Just bought a cute 9yr old mare. Her baby pics show her face totally dark. She now looks to have vitiligo. Not sure how you know the difference? Whether or not it is vitiligo, or just normal progression of discoloration.
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Either way she is beautiful. Love her coloring.
Congrats on the new horse.
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Not an app person, but I did work for a breeder who usually had some knabstruppers and even apps.
It is common for them to be born dark and “spot out” over time. My gut instinct would be it’s her normal color and not vitiligo.
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Probably her normal color progression. She’s a cutie!
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This happened to an imported KWPN gelding my Mum had. It turned out to be low copper/zinc, and when we corrected that his facial skin returned to its original black instead of pink.
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My 2 Appaloosas have changed their coat patterns over time, so that may be what is happening. Their skin color did not change. Pink skin stayed pink and dark skin stayed dark. Is just the hair turning white or is there skin color change? What does your vet think?
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Beautiful horse. Do read up about leptospirosis and recurrent uveitis risk in appaloosas. Its much more common then people are aware. My friend had 2 appaloosas. A mare and her filly. The mare went blind and now the foal (now an adult) is also starting to go blind. I believe there are vaccines for leptospirosis but I don’t know how effective they are.
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I have to agree with this.
Lp does weird things, but it seems weird that it would change the skin color too.
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First of all, I love a good Appy. They’re can do pretty much anything. I’ve had a few and my good friend had a couple, one of which was a very successful 3’ ammy hunter. She was a black mare with a snowflake pattern and she was a very stylish jumper. Literally jumped with her knees to her chin.
Second, to me this cute horse looks like its natural coat pattern is just expressing itself. I honestly can’t see a difference in skin pigmentation. I just see more spots. Plus, keep in mind you’re comparing how she looks now, after recently purchasing her at 9, to her baby photos.
If you’re truly concerned, have your vet examine her. And also please get input regarding uveitis and protecting any pink skin around her eyes. Unfortunately, Appaloosas can be more predisposed to eye issues more than other breeds.
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Mad Barn has a good condensed article about this on their web site.
They also mention a study that
Believes there could be a nutritional deficiency.
Guessing you know little about the dam/sire so difficult to know if there’s a genetic component.
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LP has no affect on skin color.
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LP does do interesting thing, but it doesn’t change skin colour, just hair.
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I have owned many appies. They are my breed. I know some can get Uveitis. I have only ever had one who did.
I realize appies change colors as time goes on. My Q was, is this a normal discoloration or is this vitiligo, which is an autoimmune situation. I am aware of Uveitis, i have had one of 6 appies who had it. We were able to manage it fine.
I mean, if you have experience with Apps and have owned several (I’ve owned four myself, so you’ve owned more than me), you probably know as much as anyone here can tell from a picture.
I’d ask your vet what they think.
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Is the skin white instead of the dark colour she was likely born with? It could be an extreme expression of LP otherwise.
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Putting her on copper and zinc to see if any of the color returns is a pretty cheap and benign thing. Worth a shot if you’re concerned.
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I know appies but i don’t breed them or show them. That’s why i purposely asked for appy people in the title. I was hoping someone familiar could tell me. Vet is coming wednesday.
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What is LP?
