I was watching an old movie the other night – okay, it was Hang “Em High with Clint Eastwood – and I noticed the truly handsome horse he was riding (bet you thought I was going to say handsome leading man). This particular sorrel horse had a nice white blaze and four matching white stockings. I once knew a cowboy who referred to horses with this particular set of markings as “having a lot of chrome.”
There are entire books on horse markings, and I could go on and on. But I thought it would be fun to just take a look at some common white markings, which can occur with many breeds and color variations, but are often found on sorrels.
On the face and head:
Blaze – stripe down the center of the face (can be narrow to wide).
Bald face – very wide blaze extending past the eyes.
Star – star or circular-shaped marking between or above the eyes.
Diamond – diamond-shaped marking between or above the eyes.
Heart – heart-shaped marking between or above the eyes.
Snip – marking on the muzzle between the nostrils.
Combinations – a mix of the above
On the legs and feet:
Stockings -white that extends to bottom of the knee or hock or higher. Can have one, two, three or four.
Socks – white that doesn’t extend as high as a stocking.
Pastern – white that extends above the hoof but stops below the fetlock.
Coronet – white just above the hoof.
Combinations – a mix of any of the above.
I love that many horses are named after their markings – like Blaze (there’s a well-known children’s book series about Billy and his horse Blaze), Socks, Star, and Baldy. I once owned a sorrel horse with a nice blaze and three matching stockings and named him Tiger because the blaze resembled a tiger’s arm and paw – well, if you used your imagination.
So, what might you name a horse with a unique white marking?
Cathy McDavid has been penning Westerns for Harlequin since 2005. With over 55 titles in print and 1.6 million-plus books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world seven years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give the cowboys a run for their money. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.
Hello Cathy- live your blog. I’ve had so many roping horses. Many with unique marking. We usually either named them by their personality or who we bought them from. If they were papered we usually shortened their name. I had a palomino one time I called Dan, Dirty Dan fir short, he was a dappled palomino. His registered name was Satchels Dan.
A Buckskin once we named. Get ready for it… Bucky. Very original, right??
I’ve had 2 of the best horses. King and Junior. King had a blazed face, Junior a obscure star pattern.
This was a great blog, especially for those that don’t know horse patterns much. Thank you for posting.
I’m reading an amazing book by Jan Sikes called Saddled Hearts, it’s about a Horse Sanctuary and it has a mystery intertwined. I know you would love it.
Hi Tonya, Thanks or sharing your stories about horse names. We once had a dun mare who birthed a colt we kept. I named him Son of a Dun and called him Sonny. I’m off to check out the book, Saddled Hearts 🙂
Oh, Cathy, I’d be honored it you’d take a look at Saddled Hearts. Colt Layne has a deep love and respect for horses. In the photos above, I love the horse with the perfect heart! Wonder what its name was?
Oh, thank you, Tonya, for mentioning Saddled Hearts!! I am honored! I loved Colt’s horse and the reason for the name, Lightning. 🙂 I’m glad you are enjoying the book!
I just got your book, Jan. Sounds really interesting 🙂 Can’t wait to read it.
Great blog. Thanks. Iwould name one Corey if there was a cornet present.
That’s so cute, Debby.
I always liked the name Blaze for a horse.
Me, too, Denise. I read my son the Blaze books series when he was a little boy, and he loved them.
I read a book as a girl where the horse was named Punctuation because she had a blaze/snip combo that looked like a question mark.
That’s adorable, Jess 🙂
Good morning! Love your blog! I hope all who do not know much about horses and markings enjoy this blog. I’ve always wanted an Appaloosa, a Pinto or one of the spotted breed horses at the link with a star or heart marking on their face. Fun blog. https://horseyhooves.com/spotted-horse-breeds/
Thanks for the link to the blog. Horse markings really are interesting, and there are just so many cool ones.
Cotton Patch
Love it, Janice.
Good morning. Very interesting post. I haven’t named a horse by it’s markings I have named one Thunder because when she ran she sounded like Thunder. An other one was named Sinimin because she was the color of cinnamon. Then we have Morning Star because she was the star of the morning. Thanks for the memories.
I like your name play on Sinimin. I once had a pony with the same name, only spelled Cinnamon the regular way 🙂
Yes I have had many horses, but 2 at the same time were marked with full blazes and rear matching stocking that came up to a point just below the hock area! Many bald faces will also have blue eyes and this is inherited from a parent usually and can have excessive white elsewhere on the body!
I rode English as a child and didn’t ride Western regularly until college. My first Western pleasure horse was named Baldy after the huge blaze covering her entire face. She had blue eyes, too. And was a great horse! Thanks for reminding me of her, Teresa.
I love this, Cathy!!! So-o helpful. I’ve got books on horses, of course, which are invaluable to this city-girl who has never owned one, but your images are priceless. I’ve never heard of a snip – and that heart – wow!! 🙂
I’m saving this for reference. Just in time as I start my new book. Yay!
I love horses with hearts on their faces. It’s one of my favorite markings. Well, of course it is. A romance writer’s perfect horse 🙂
Depends on the marking! I’ve always wanted to name one Apache or Comanche, though, as I grew up watching westerns and always wanted the Indians beat the calvary!
Isn’t there a story about a horse named Comanche that survived Custer’s Last Stand? I can’t quite remembe. I may have to look that up for a future blog post 🙂 Thanks, Trudy.
welcome today. this is a lot of interesting information. I have always loved the different markings on horses. When we had horses on the farm we named them after their personality or something that happened. Like Sunday was born on a Sunday.
Sunday is such a cute name for a horse. Love it, Lori!
My husband had a horse named Spook because he was so easily spooked. He was the only one who could ride him. Currently we have no horses but a kitten born this year has been named Blaze because he has a mark like a blaze faced horse.
Very helpful explanations about horse markings.
Aw, that is so cute, Alice.
We had a horse named Blaze and I loved him. He was a registered quarterhorse. The only thing is that when he was a yearling, and I was six years old, I was petting him on the nose while carrying around an armful of baby rabbits. When I stopped stroking his nose, I turned around to walk away, but he wanted more attention! He rared back and hit me in the back with his front paws, knocking me down on the ground, and I flipped over quickly and I saw his front feet coming down and they landed on my leg and very close to my tiny little stomach! Long and short, my bone was broken in two, almost breaking the skin, but not quite! I spent the rest of my first grade and my summer in the hospital and then learning to walk again. I still loved him, because I knew he didn’t know better!
Oh, wow, Lana. That’s a story. I’m so glad you’re okay. I had a young colt do something similar, rear up and knock me in the back with a front hoof, but nothing like what happened to you. So glad you were all right.
Hi, wow, this is so very interesting , Thank you for sharing all this. I would call the horse Keita, Blaze, Socks, Beloved, Nevaeh, or Kooper. We had a horse and we named him Big Red.
Red is such a great horse name. My late father-in-law had a big old red horse named Red, of course. Kooper is also a cool name.