Rabicano, Mallen Streaks, and Skunks!

Mr. Birdcatcher (as I've started calling him) was at the fence by the lane to the barn yesterday. I slowed to look at him and I discovered that birdcatcher spots were not his only coloration oddity.

Look at his mane and tail. 

They both have a little white that begins at the base

but does not extend down into the mane or tail.

In the tail, this can be evidence of minimal rabicano and is called a coon or skunk tail, but I am not sure what a white spot in the roots of the mane is called. I thought it might be a birdcatcher spot located right where the mane is rooted, but it looks as though some of the mane is white, too.

Of course, there is evidence of "rabicano" in my own family. If you have been reading this blog for a while then you have seen it.

In humans it is often called a Mallen streak although when the white is just a spot in the hair, it is also called a skunk spot. I've never heard it called rabicano in humans,  but I like the horsey connection!

Lisa first got some strands of grey in her hair sometime around 2021 and I don't think anyone thought anything about it - like most adults, her turn had come to begin going grey. (Isn't that a great picture of her with Nash?)

But for her, instead of having grey sprinkled all throughout her hair, it has stayed in that one spot and the streak has gotten wider with time.

Lisa with former students who graduated from high school this spring and came back for a visit.

One statistic I read said that Mallen streaks are genetic and rare - as few as 1 in every 250,000 people have one. Neither Craig nor I know of any family members who exhibit the trait, but then, if it's rare, that isn't surprising.

Now, I'd love to get a photo of Mr. Birdcatcher and Lisa together. Stay 'tooned on that!

Oh, and in some happy news, I've been out to the barn several times without crying during the drive there or back or while I am visiting with the horses. 

Progress!