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Dun markings
There are quite a few
markings* that dun horses have in common.
Some have one or two, and a very few have all of these and
more.
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Almost every horse that is even suspected of
being a dun has a
dorsal
stripe. This one is very strong; wide, and
with the horizontal, or *transverse*, prongs known as "fishboning".
"Dorsal" means along the back, between mane and
tail. The color and other characteristics vary
according to the horse's other color genes, etc.
This is the (sadly, deceased) mare
Charm
of Karisma
Kigers. |
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Leg
markings are the next thing we look for.
These are typical front legs with "barring". It
can also appear as blocky, ladder-rung-like "barring",
zig-zagged finer striping, or even smudges/ mottling.
Same mare/farm as above. |
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A very fine example of
eye
markings on
HIGH
COUNTRY FIREDANCE, courtesy of
Karisma Kigers |
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Somewhat unusual
hock
markings on
Karisma
Dun in Diamonds,
Karisma Kigers. |
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Face
mask. This lady has an upper AND lower,
nice dark mask.
Karisma Diamonds of Intrigue, 2002 Dun Kiger Filly.
Sire:
Cherokee Dam:
FireDance (above),
Karisma Kigers |
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Shoulder barring and
dorsal
stripe (interrupted) on Marjena Bass' late
stallion Go Copper Glo. (top picture) |
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El
Duc,
owned by Springwater Station Kigers;
great shoulder and neck markings. |
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For some unusual neck (and other) markings, see
http://www.zohararabians.com/mohave-markings/index.htm |
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Cobwebbing - concentric circles of very fine
dark lines, on the forehead. |
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Ear barring - Missouri Fox Trotter stallion, "It
Must Be Dun", owned by Elizabeth Kopplow of
Lazy K Bar Ranch.
Notice that halfway down the length of these ears they
have a wide, dark horizontal "bar" |
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  Body Colors : so many folks are
sure they "know what a dun looks like"; these pages may enlarge all of our horizons a bit further. |
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Mane & tail frosting: this is not
exclusively a dun trait. If you investigate,
you will find that many non-dun dilutions such as
buckskins do have it; and the dun mare with the
dorsal and leg markings in the top 2 pictures did not.
Photo, left, is of an amber cream (non-dun) QH filly.
Her mane is a medium brown color under all of that
frosting. |
The same is true of dark ear tipping and
outlining: these have been found on many non-dun horses, so,
while they may exist on duns, they are not considered a "dun
trait".
We are still investigating dark- topped ears with a
white tip... they may be found on duns only, but
we think we've seen them on other colors a time or two; if
so, they are not an exclusively dun trait.
* We see no reason to call
a stripe or a mark(ing) a "factor".
MORE THAN JUST MARKINGS: The dun gene also *dilutes* the
horse's coat color where there are no markings. This means the
color will be lighter than true bay, chestnut or black (or whatever
color the horse would be without the dun gene.) There is a
consensus among dun owners that dun colors tend to have a muted,
rather than bright, color intensity to them ... sandy rather than
golden, for example. However, this is not *always* the case.
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