Our miniature gelding, Doodle, is just 2 years old and I want to chronicle his coat color through the years. The varnish roan pattern of an appaloosa is very interesting. I like coat colors and their variations in general. While I am not a huge fan of the appearance of the appaloosa horse, their coats are quit interesting. These varnish roan horses change color every year until at 8-10 years old they are at their final coloration. Doodle's mother, LHR Sizzlers Sweet Sixteen, is 11 years old demonstrates the varnish roan pattern above as an 8 year old and as a 10 year old (right) Although the 10 year old picture leaves some lighting to be desired, you can see her stifle and the spot on the point of her hip are obviously lighter.
When her son, Doodle, was born in April of 2007 I immediately discerned he was an appaloosa because he had characteristic mottling of his muzzle and vertical tiger stripes in his feet. Here is the cute little bugger at about 2 weeks old.
Doodle is also a unique silver dapple. He is not a typical bay. His stockings have maintained the mottled appearance and his mane and tail are not black. His tail is almost a gold color with some black mixed in, and his mane is a mix of black, grey, and gold. The photo below shows his unique tail color.
As a yearling, Doodle still looks to be almost entirely a silver dapple. You can discern in the photos he does have some minor flecking over his rump. I am apparently short any quality photos of him from last year. YOu can see well in these photos though that he doesn't have the black points typical of a bay horse, but his front legs and tail have more of a golden hue to them
As a 2 year old, in 2010, the molt is on! He looks like he has some sort of fungus! He changed dramatically when shedding off his winter coat (which is not quite through, but I got impatient and wanted to do this blog) It is hard to believe in a few years he will look just like his mother, except for his baby blue eyes!
and finally, the finished product. LHR Sizzlers Sweet Sixteen in 2010 at an 11 year old. Her coloring should not change much more throughout her lifetime.
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