Dapple grey horses are one of my favorite horse colors of all time. Their beauty and uniqueness are striking. I always feel tempted to look at sale ads when I see a beautiful dapple grey horse eyeing back at me.
I used to own a dapple grey horse and I was surprised to find out some things I didn’t realize before I owned one.
Read over the facts below to become better acquainted with the dapple grey horse and learn some interesting facts about the color that is loved by so many equestrians. You may discover things you didn’t know before.
Along with some facts, photos, and a breed list of these beauties, I have included some extra resources for you dapple grey lovers. That you can check out toward the end of this post.
16 Dapple Grey Horse Facts
Fact 1: A dapple grey horse has a pattern of darker rings over a lighter grey coat.
Fact 2: The dapple grey horse will not keep their beautiful coat forever.
Fact 3: The dapple grey coat is the second stage coat in the greying process.
Fact 4: Not all grey horses will go through the dapple grey stage.
Fact 5: Very rarely some horses keep their dapple grey coat throughout their lives.
Fact 6: The dapple grey coat lightens as the horse ages until the dapples are gone.
Fact 7: Dapple grey horses are not born dapple grey. Foals are born as their base coat color.
Fact 8: A dapple grey horse can start out as any base coat color.
Fact 9: The dapples which are circular patches surrounding the grey, white hairs are the color of the horse’s base coat color.
Fact 10: The dapple grey stage most commonly occurs between the ages of 3 years old to 12 years old. But it can occur younger and older than this range.
Fact 11: There are 2 main types of dapples. True dapples and bloom dapples. True dapples are genetic and stay present during the greying stage. Bloom dapples can come and go based on the horse’s diet and condition.
Fact 12: More study needs to be done on how the dappling occurs but it has been hypothesized that there is a deactivation of the dominant grey gene that allows the rings to form.
Fact 13: Dapples are typically most noticeable and prominent around 3-4 years old.
Fact 14: Different horses, breeds, locations will go through the greying process at different rates.
Fact 15: With each shedding of the coat the dapple grey horse will get lighter.
Fact 16: Some dapple grey horses will end up with an almost all white coat, whereas other dapple greys will become a flea bitten grey color.
Horse Breeds That Have Dapple Greys
Grey specifically dapple grey is a common color among most of the horse breeds. In some pony and horse breeds the color grey can be more prevalent than in other breeds.
Common breeds with a large majority of grey horses include:
- Welsh Pony
- Welsh Cob
- Connemara
- Andalusian
- Lipizzaner
- Lusitano
- Spanish Norman
- Mangalarga Marchador
- Irish Sport Horse
- Irish Draught
- Araboulonnais
- Boulonnais
- Percheron
- Orlov Horse
- Oldenburg Horse
- Poitevin Horse
- Camargue Horse
- Carthusian Horse
- Chumbivilcas
- Dilbaz
- Kladruby
- Unmol
- Yemeni
But there are many other posts online that talk about the different horses that come in the color grey. So I thought you might also like to know horse breeds that don’t get the dapple grey coloring.
Breeds that don’t commonly have dapple grey:
- Fells Pony
- Exmoor Pony
- Black Forest Horse
- Mérens
- Appaloosa
- Knabstruper
- Fjord
- Haflinger
- Friesian
- Murgese
- Pony’s Of The Americas
Dapple Grey Resources
Here are some resources for those who have, are getting, or just love dapple grey horses. Feel free to share down in the comments any other dapple grey resources you think others will like.
Dapple Grey Horse Names
I found this blog post with dozens of name ideas for grey horses.
There is a section specifically for dapple grey horse names, but there are many different sections that are relevant if you are trying to name a dapple grey horse.
Just remember when you go to name your horse they won’t stay dapple grey forever… tear.
Also if you want to have fun choosing your new horse’s name I have the horsey name game printable, which you can get in my resource library or you can sign up to receive for free at the bottom of this post.
Here is the blog post link for the grey horse names:
Top Grey Horse Names (Grey And Dapple Grey Horse Names) – Horse FAQ’s
Colors That Look Good On A Dapple Grey
Dapple grey looks good with pretty much any color. The colors I am listing below are what I believe look great on a dapple grey or grey horse.
- Royal Blue
- Navy Blue
- Lavender
- Lilac
- Violet
- Lime Green
- Forest Green
- Mint Green
- Teal
- Turquoise
- Hot Pink
- Rose Pink
- Burgundy
Want to choose for yourself for what looks good on a dapple grey horse?
If you haven’t done it before I think your going to have fun!
There is this website that has a horse doll maker.
You can choose your horses coat, mane and tail color and then dress the horse up with different colored tack, saddle pads, polo wraps and ear bonnets. They have different pages for different doll makers.
Go try it out and have fun! It is called snafflez.com
Answer The Poll Below!
Dapple Grey Progression Pictures
Would you like to share with us pictures of your dapple grey’s greying progression and have them featured right here?
Email me at [email protected] with your name, your horses name and at least one before and after picture.
If you can remember the horse’s rough age for each picture that would also be interesting for all of us to know!
Conclusion
Dapple greys are a beautiful color of horse.
If only they would stay dapple grey.
Instead we get to see the grey horse go through different seasons of color in their lives.
I guess if you like change then the different shades a grey goes through wouldn’t bother you too much.
Hopefully you learned something new about dapple greys and maybe enjoyed yourself. 🙂
Cheers,
Kacey
P.S. Here is the horsey name game I mentioned above. Have fun!
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