I’m pretty fascinated by Nilla’s coloring. I’ve talked about it before here. The recent shave job has revealed some new color characteristics.
Nilla’s ear have always been darker than the rest of her coat, but with the recent shave job, her ears look like they belong to a different mule.
Another thing the shave job changed is her shoulder stripe. In the summer, when she wasn’t shaved at all it was very dark. Since she was shaved back in October, it grew back in, but wasn’t quite as contrasting. However, the recent shave job seems to have removed all signs of it.
I wonder if this is like zebras’ stripes. I’ve read that if you shave a zebra, their skin is solid and not striped. Only the hair grows the stripes. It seems like Nilla’s shoulder stripe is a similar marking.
Has anyone else noticed anything weird about their horse’s coloring/markings when they shaved them?
Wow, I love that shoulder stripe!
My bay gelding has a dorsal stripe which I love <3
Has anyone else shaved a zebra…? We might have to ask Andrea to contribute to this experiment;)
Paddy has a weird pattern of stripes on his right flank – they're most obvious in the summer when his coat is short. When clipped, he looks more blonde, but in the summer he's very obviously a flaxen chestnut. I love Nilla's earz, so cute!
huh that's super interesting!! i kinda love reading about coat genetics (like on the blog equine tapestry) but really know very little about it myself. those odd markings tho – like dorsal or shoulder stripes, or the stripes some horses will get on their gaskins, are really cool to me
I love seeing all her color changes!
Nilla has a dorsal stripe too, but that didn't disappear when I shaved her.
I can't find any images just various articles saying that's what would happen. Images would be awesome.
Nilla and Paddy are very similarly colored. I prefer the dark golden color to the shaved white.
I find all of it fascinating too. I've never had such an interestingly colored horse to see any of this stuff up close.
It's so cool to see.
You can tell by looking at the tanned hides. The skin is the same colour all the way along underneath.
Incidentally, zebra hides are really not all that valuable. Despite looking interesting they feel bad and smell like all getup. I learned this in Kenya.
I'm surprised no one has figured out how to tan the hides better. I'd think they'd be a good seller.
Whoa, that shoulder stripe thing is kind of nuts! Gina looks very dapple-y when she's clipped, but that's the only time she has them.
That's really interesting. Do you wish they grew out? I love dappled bays.
I've seen roans do seasonal color changes- more white in the summer and more color in the winter. Nilla's is the opposite change though. I wonder if her stripe hair only colors at the tips. I have an orange tabby cat, and his hairs are not orange all the way down- they are orange at the tip and white on the lower half. If I shaved him, he'd be almost white and lose his stripes too. So interesting!
In person I can see a slight shoulder stripe so the color does go all the way down the hair, but there's no coloring to her skin.
I keep coming back to look at these pictures. She really is such a unique and gorgeous colour!
Palominos are really not a color I generally like, but I've discovered so many unique things about Nilla's coloring that I've come around to liking her coloring now.