Brindle Horse

Brindle

Brindle coat colour and texture in horses is distinguished by vertical stripes on the coat with a stripe-like change in texture along the neck, back, hindquarters and upper legs. A brindled coat may show a change in pigmentation. This phenotype, called Brindle 1 (BR1), can occur on any colour background and shows seasonal changes.

Brindle 1 is caused by a mutation to the gene for site 2 membrane-bound transcription factor peptidase (MBTPS2), which is involved in skin and hair development.

Inheritance

The Brindle 1 mutation has an X-Linked Semi-Dominant form of inheritance. Females carrying the mutation display brindling, whereas affected females and carrier males display sparser hair on the mane and tail, but lack the stripes.

Relevant tests

• P316