Primitive Markings - Dorsal Stripe

Dorsal Stripe

Also called an eel stripe, spinal stripe, or list, a dark, bold dorsal stripe running down the spine from ears to tail is the primary primitive marking. Dun horses always possess a dorsal stripe. Even in the cases of non-duns with dorsal stripes, no other primitive markings exist without the presence of the dorsal stripe.

Of equids other than horses, all except the Mountain Zebra show a distinct dorsal stripe. Among domesticated donkeys, most have a black dorsal stripe, though it can be difficult to see on melanistic individuals. In the African Wild Ass, the dorsal stripe is thin but distinct and black. In Przewalski's Horse, the dorsal stripe is usually dark brown, while it is black in the bred-back Tarpan. In the Plains Zebra the dorsal stripe is narrow and edged by white, while in the Grevy's Zebra it is quite bold. The dorsal stripes of the Onager and Kiang are dark brown and especially vivid.

The dorsal stripe reflects the original coat color of the horse. Those on bay duns may be black or reddish while those on red duns are distinctly red. Dorsal stripes on dun horses with the cream gene seem unaffected by cream: smoky black-duns ("smoky grullas"), buckskin-duns ("dunskins") and palomino-duns ("dunalinos") have black, brown, or red dorsal stripes as well. So-called "countershading dorsals," which are dorsal stripes occurring on non-dun horses, are a darker shade of the horse's coat color. Countershading dorsal stripes may be seasonal, waning or disappearing altogether during a particular time of year.