[sher327]

Since I'm not the only one asking about a bay getting white hairs I thought I would post pics and ask opinions. Remember, Dollar is only 7-8 y/o so he isn't getting old man hairs yet LOL I have no idea why this is having to his beautiful bay coat.The ONLY real spot of white on him is on the middle of his back and I'm not sure if its true white or from an old injury. Anyways, here are pics of the white hairs that are ALL over him and on his sides alot more than you can see in these pics but its the only close ups I have. I took these of his nasty cut from a kick but it shows what I mean.

Does any one know why his coat would be doing this???

[Quiggles]

The spot on his back might be from a saddles sore or something but im not sure about the other white hairs.

[ILoveRedRanger!]

im not sure y its doing thta but a roan has much more white than that

[sher327]

ya I sorta thought that might be from a saddle sore but don't know since it was there long before I bought him. I'm just really curious about thw white hairs as I have another bay and he isn't doing it at all and he's older.

[hay burner]

hmmmm im not sure exactly what it is but i know that isnt roaning here is a pic

hope this helps!!! it might have been an injury or age cuz my mare is 7 and she is a gray and is already getting fleabitten. also my sorrel has gotten one right where his saddle sits so maybe it was a wip mark or sumthing else but its niot roaning yet i dont think


now here is a bit more on roaning to explain........

Roan is similar to grey in that it is a pattern of individual white hairs sprinkled into the coat. Unlike grey, roan horses are born roan and stay the same color throughout their lives (although they may appear lighter or darker in their winter coats). Also, the head, legs, mane and tail of a roan horse are solid-colored and do not display "roaning." This makes roan easy to distinguish from grey, since the face of a grey horse is the first part of the body that begins to lighten.

Roan can occur on any base color and is caused by the dominant gene R. Homozygous roan (RR) is believed to be lethal; the foal that inherits an R gene from each parent probably does not survive, with a few exceptions. Almost all roan horses are heterozygous Rr, while rr horses are nonroan.

[Dawn]

I would say no. At that age he would have a lot more white on him. The scattered hairs are probably just from him graying with age.

[sher327]

weird, I had no idea they could start graying so young! I thought they were usually much older,interesting.I also know NOTHING about roaning so I thought I would show a pic since I asked recently. Oh well, I'd love him even if he was bald but I just can't get over all those little white hairs LOL When he stands next to my other bay he looks like an old man and hes younger LOL

[bay_blnd jmpr07]

Fiona's kinda roaned. she has white hairs all over, but not enough she looks white. i like it tho LOL i think most bays have white hairs over their bodies in areas

BBJ

[Dancinglite]

Your horse could be showing a mild rabicano ( it is a dilute gene).

[Lucky Duck]

Maybe it is Rabicano or white ticking, which is a type of roaning in which the white hairs are confined to the flanks, ribs, and dock of the tail. It is particularly prominent on the flanks, often appearing to follow the pattern of growth of the hairs. Over the ribs the pattern can have a striped appearance. In some horses only the dock of the tail is affected (skunk tail) and on such horses the tail may be partly or nearly all white.
OR
Frosty, which is a rare type of roaning in which the white hairs tend to follow the boney prominences of the hips, the spine, and the shoulder. White hairs will also extend into the mane and tail something that does not occur with roan and roan-like patterns.

My gelding has a bunch of white flecking in his flank area... I'll have to get a pic of it sometime.