In an effort to more accurately describe how a horse looks, horse markings have all been given unique names.  It may surprise you to know that there are several ways to describe the white markings on a horse’s face, and several others to describe the type of white markings on each foot.

Face Markings
The three common face markings are the star, the strip and the snip.  In addition, a full white face is a blaze.  The star is a white mark above the eyes, and can be combined with the strip or snip for a full description of markings.  A strip is a mark below the eyes and above the nostrils.  A snip is a mark on the nose, between the top of the nostrils and the bottom.  Faces can have all three markings, or a complete white blaze.

Leg Markings
Leg markings are one of five: coronet, pastern, fetlock, sock or stocking.  A coronet marking is just above the hoof, while a pastern extends about halfway from hoof to fetlock.  A fetlock marking goes up to the fetlock (the ankle), a sock goes halfway up to the hock (knee), and a stocking is at or above the knee.

All of these markings are white and contrast with the base color of the horse.  While you certainly don’t need this information to be a horse owner, it can be helpful to understand what your horse’s registration papers mean and you do need to know it if you want to register a horse.