polka dots in hair coat

[LynnG]

I have a 13 year old full Colombian broodmare that over the past year she has been getting more and more of dime size white spots randomly throughout her body haircoat. She is a deep red chestnut with blaze, with no other white birth markings. She is also pregnant during this time period. I haven't seen this on a solid color Paso Fino before....whether there is a genetic or hormnal cause. Any ideas? I just see more and more popping up........

on a quick search, all I found was by Phillip Sponuburg ? :
Birdcatcher spots are small white spots scattered randomly over the coat of some horses. These are not known to be genetic, and occur in many breeds.

[Abejita]

I remember this topic coming up a few times on the old board and after we saw pics of one or two other solid colored pasos who started this we all agreed they were birdcatcher spots Thats all I remember

[KAB]

Lynn, my mare did that last year.I changed her feed back to her old one and they are all gone except one or two.I don't know if that was the problem but was the only thing different.She sure looked funny......She is 21.

[PattiB]

If they are on her body probably birdcatcher spots, if they are only on the muzzle, stomach or in my horses case the testicles it could be a worm. A double dose of Ivermectin got rid of those. Musica de Ladrillo has bird catcher spots also. As far as I know none of her offspring have them.

[LynnG]

They aren't on her muzzle...only body. Her feed hasn't changed. Only thing different is she is pregnant...she's due very soon.....

I just notice she is getting more of them in new areas.. I knew that weren't there before. I'll just call them her "happy" spots...she is happy and content being pregnant!

[Terry Wallace]

Hehehehe...TIGRE HORSE !!! Not really!! Bird-catcher spots sounds like it to me too...

[Linda Y]

I agree...birdcatcher spots. I do have to disagree with the good Dr. about them not being genetic. My PPR mare Cuca had them, her son Desi has them and as he has gotten older he has a LOT of them. And her great granddaughter Cita has them, too. I used to say that Cuca was trying to be an Appaloosa because she knew how much I liked them! :lol:

[stella]

Just interested to know the bloodlines, as my chestnut stallion gets them every spring....then later they leave...and I guarantee, he's NOT pregnant!

[LynnG]

My mare with the birdcatcher spots is Arianna de Dixieland. She is full colombian and chestnut. She di have a few along her dorsal when I got her 2 years ago...but this year especially they are breaking out bodywide...not an epidemic yet. And no other horses have them! She did have one pinto filly previously ;-) .

Here is Arianna's pedigree...see if you have any common ancestors...with any of yours with birdcatcher spots?
http://www.pasoregistry.com/db/Tree.asp?ID=90289%20

[pnalley]

Please post photo's of the Paso's wit the spots.

One of my App mares developed new white spots on her body while in foal, once the baby was born she turned back solid in those areas, but with an App you never know what the'll look like nexttime you see them :shock:

[SandyMM]

Hm! A Consentida granddaughter... I knew many of Consentida's offspring - first live birth I ever saw was Alegria Brio..

[Carol Nelson]

I have a red dun filly, Ciela, with the same spots. Castellano figures heavily in her pedigree also. She just seems to get more as she matures...I don't have any photos that show the spots but here's her webpage. The spots don't show up in the photos but she has about ten to twelve different white spots on the trunk of her body.

http://www.geocities.com/lazyidh/ayla.html

Her PFHA Reg. No. is 43086 and her full name is IDH's Fuego de la Ciela if you want to check out PasoRegistry.

http://pasoregistry.com/db/Tree.asp?ID=120614

[stella]

The one I have has Hilachas, thru Decius, and the other with Decius (and Faldero, I might add)also has coat issues - and is chestnut - rubs her haircoat out in bald spots when shedding, ONLY when she's preggy...

My alltime best mare, also a Resorte/Hilachas combo, used to lose pigment around her eyes and sometimes a tad around the nose, whenever carrying a filly. WEIRD THINGS HAPPEN! Seems somehow hormonal....

[Linda Y]

My mare that had them was Cuca Volar...PPR sired by Volare out of Sensacion LaCE. Her son, Descarado Casi, is also PPR. He is sired by Dablado. The other mare is Dulcita Del Cabildo. She is a great granddaughter of Cuca, sired by Dablado, and has some Colombian blood.
I will try to remember to get a photo of Desi's spots tomorrow. He has a LOT of them this year.

[LynnG]

you have to look to see them in these photos taken in January:
http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/arianna/1_10_06arianna_3_4conf.jpg
spot on shoulder

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/arianna/1_10_06ariannaLunge.jpg
spot on hindquarters

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/arianna/ariannaDorsal5_5_04.jpg
you can see a spot on her dorsal stripe area ....actually there is a number of them there when I got her 2 years ago

there are more than these now...none on face though, just neck and body!

okay, this pic was last July of my preggie girl Arianna
who is now overdue one week. You can only imagine how she looks now...with that baby continuing to grow. She ballooned up early!

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/arianna/arianna3_4Stand7_30_05web.jpg
she's a happy camper though, always hungry! she waddles. :roll:

[Carol Nelson]

My filly's spots are not rub marks or places where the hair has come off...they are spots of white hairs. Health-wise, she is fine and her coat is magnificent, she just simply has these white spots, and that is what Lynn is describing on her mare also, I believe. Some sort of deviation in the hair pigment or something, I guess. Interesting that they both are "red".

And my filly is only coming three...and has never been pregnant.

[Terry Wallace]

Hey now ya all KNOW...what is that they say here?????

this thread is no good without PHOTOS!!! How are we to tell if it is sabino gene expression.... bird doo doo...or "white out"...or some other Phee-nom-eee-non???? :D

[pnalley]

Lynn,
Your mare is lovely, and I could see the spots on the shoulder & rump, which btw looks like a quarter horse rear end :lol:

[Carol Nelson]

Had a lot of wind yesterday...I'll get out with my camera and see if I can get some pics of Ciela's spots for ya!

[Linda Y]

Here are some photos I took this morning of my two. Please excuse Desi's very moth eaten appearance as he sheds. And as Carol said...none of these were injury related, and they move.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/yorkhrse/desispots.jpg
And this is Cita...her spots are not as pronounced, so I circled them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/yorkhrse/citaspots.jpg

[Carol Nelson]

Ok...first Ayla's pretty face...you can see some spots on her shoulder...

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931ayla1.JPG.jpg

Now, her left side...

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931ayla2.JPG.jpg

and her rump...

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931ayla3.JPG.jpg

and her other side...

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931ayla4.JPG.jpg

Here's her mama, Cita, she has three spots...

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931cita1.JPG.jpg

See our well-trained horses???... :lol:

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931ayla5.JPG.jpg

...and kind of an interesting photo...Cita and Cristal in the pasture:

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/36931citacristal.JPG.jpg

[CarolU]

Santiago had so many a two years ago I almost changed his registration to 'pinto'....LOL They went away and he doesn't have any now. I have never changed feed or anything, and I have no idea why they show up or why they leave.

I thought it was exclusively a chestnut trait, since I've never seen them on any other color horse, but now I find one on Rosie.

[Monty]

Well , from the sound of it - if they are all over - and do go away - doesn't sound like something to worry about -
BUT ! If your horse develops them along the length of the spine on each vertebrae - call a vet and have blood test for liver !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One symptom we found out for liver failure - :roll:

[motorgypsy]

Our bay mare, the one who was injured a year ago with hyperextended fetlocks and probable fractured pelvis, has several this year on her barrel and butt - quite large and not injuries or rub spots. She's around 7/8 PPR and double Hilachas for her Colombian blood. She's recovering very well - totally sound and fetlocks continue to shrink in size.

[DSDECKERT]

Both of mine get these every year, in different locations all over their body! Definitely birdcatcher spots.

[CarolU]

Both my chestnuts have had them. They last a year or two and go away. Rosie (dun) has one on her neck this summer. They are birdcatcher spots. No idea why they are named that though.

I've only seen them on chestnuts or horses with chestnut genes though.