Horse Facial Markings By Katherine Blocksdorf Katherine Blocksdorf Kathy Blocksdorf is an equine expert and writer with over three decades of experience in training and riding horses. She was raised caring for horses, rehabilitated rescue horses, shows her own horses, and rides long distance. Learn more about The Spruce Pets' Editorial Process Updated on 01/16/26 Credit: Nora Carol Photography / Getty Images Key Takeaways Each horse's facial markings are unique, making them a reliable method for identification and registration purposes.Common facial markings include stars, blazes, snips, and bald faces, each varying in size and shape.Facial markings are recorded in medical and breed registration documents to verify a horse's identity. Although there are several basic facial markings on horses, each marking is unique in shape to each horse. Like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same. This uniqueness is useful for horse owners as it provides a means of accurate identification. When filling out registration papers, or documents like Coggins Tests, facial markings are part of the identifying details recorded for your horse. In "The Black Stallion," the horse is a solid black Arabian. The role in the movie was filled by a horse named Cass Ole, a black Arabian stallion with a white star on his face. In some scenes, if you watch closely, you can see the shadow of Cass Ole's white facial and leg markings beneath his stage "make-up." 01 of 07 Star Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images / Getty Images A star is a white spot on a horse's forehead, situated between the eyes. A faint star may only appear as a few white hairs, or it can be large enough to cover the entire forehead area. Stars can be symmetrical, resembling spots or diamonds, or appear as irregular splotches. Some stars extend down the bridge of the nose without connecting to other facial markings. On gray horses, the star may be prominent when they're young but fade into the graying coat as they age. While the star may blend with the coat color, the skin beneath will be lighter. 02 of 07 Snip Credit: Robert Seitz / Getty Images A snip is a patch of white on the horse's nose. It may be a small spot between the nostrils, or it may extend over the whole nose. A snip might be connected to a blaze or stripe. Or, a horse may have a star and a snip. 03 of 07 Strip Credit: Andy Crawford and Kit Houghton / Getty Images A strip is a band of white that extends in a more or less even stripe down the bridge of the nose. A strip may connect to a star at the top and extend to the white markings on the horse's nose. Or they may be broken so there are three separate facial markings on the face, a star, strip and snip. The strip is quite narrow, only an inch or two wide and stays on top of the nasal bone. A strip may also be called a stripe. 04 of 07 Blaze Credit: Tanja Geiss / EyeEm / Getty Images A blaze covers the whole bridge of the nose, from the forehead area, down to the nose. Blazes can be very symmetrical, or they can wander down the face unevenly. A blaze is much wider than the strip. The difference between a strip and a blaze is the width, as blazes cover most of the horse's face between the ridges of the bone. Continue to 5 of 7 below 05 of 07 Bald Credit: John Cancalosi / Getty Images A bald face is covered with a much wider white marking than a blaze. The white areas extend from the forehead to the nose, and from side to side beyond the eye area to the cheekbones. The whole nose and muzzle area can be white. It's not uncommon to see bald faced horses with blue eyes. Horses with a lot of white on their noses may be more prone to sunburn. Bald faces are common in some Paint and pinto horses as well as Clydesdales. There are specific names within some breeds for types of bald faces such as apron or medicine hat. 06 of 07 Ermine Credit: Arman Zhenikeyev / Getty Images An ermine is a small colored spot within any white area on the horse's face. Ermines may appear within a star or blaze. The may be round or very asymmetrical. Ermines also appear on leg markings. It's not unusual to see a black ermine on a lighter colored horse. These ermine spots are genetic. Dark spots within the coat color are called Bend-Or spots. 07 of 07 Combinations Credit: Kit Houghton / Getty Images Combinations of these markings result in horses' unique facial markings. Typical combinations include star and strip, star and snip, and star, strip and snip. These combinations are an important way to identify individual horses. On medical records and breed registration records these identifying marks are photographed or drawn so that the horse's identity can be verified. If your horse suddenly develops white markings around the eyes these aren't likely to be permanent. White or pinkish areas may actually be a skin condition called Vitiligo. Scars too may leave white markings on a horse, but the skin beneath will not be lighter like a true marking the horse was born with. Explore more: Horses Horse Ownership Basics