July 14, 2009

Zebra-Striped Dun

Z is for zebra,
Or for zebra stripes on a dun horse.
Boss is a dun, demonstrated by the dorsal stripe (the black line down his back), ears dipped in ink, dark markings on his withers (where neck meets back), black below the knee, and lighter colored guard hairs at the top of his mane and tail. All of these are considered "primitive" markings because dun is the color seen in early cave paintings of horses, in Przewalski's horse (an Asian wild horse), and in many American mustangs.
Obvious zebra stripes on the legs are less common but also go along with the "primitive" dun gene.
Besides having beautiful, unique markings, Boss is full of zest and zip on the trail. He's as quick as a zephyr, not too zany, and full of zeal.
He isn't one to stop and smell the zinnias or zig-zag when the going is steep, He can zoom to the next zip code. But when the time is right, he knows how to relax, too!
Zzzz.
Zounds, let him sleep. All that zinging on the trail left him feeling a bit zonked.
For more Z's from Denise Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday, click here.

34 comments:

  1. Terrific use of Z's and I learned something about a Dun horse too.

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  2. how informative--I love your Z post

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  3. LOL! Boss is a zelous zoomer on the trail. I just love your word play. Excellent "Z" post!

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  4. Honestly... always got to learn so much from all your stuff up here.

    And the wednesday word plays are my favourite.

    Boss looks killer...bless him.

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  5. Thank you for the "lesson" about dun - the word was totally new to me (not so strange perhaps). Z is a very interesting letter.

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  6. Great lesson Janie. I've never heard of a 'dun' horse. How do you go about choosing which horses to buy --when you are looking for horses to ride???? Dumb question I'm sure---but I know NOTHING about horses.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. He is a beautiful horse and this is a very interesting post, thank you.

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  8. Boss is a beauty!!! Great post!

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  9. Boss is one handsome horse. Thanks for the lesson.

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  10. What a great way to end the alphabet! I think Boss deserves a little time in the spotlight, especially since he is so full of zest!

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  11. Betsy: We both had horses as kids and raised some quarter horses when we were first married, but when we decided to buy trail horses after we'd been away from riding for 20 years, we had a big learning curve. After
    some trial and error, and a lot of reading on the subject, we looked
    for good conformation, a general steadiness (not spooky), a
    willingness to go ahead or behind, no bad habits (like kicking or
    biting!) and generally a gentle, easy to handle personality. We've
    had Mischief and Boss for 6 years. We did some on the job
    training at first, but they're just about perfect for us now!

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  12. I love your ABC Wedsnesdays, you do such a great job with these! And I also learned what dun is... funny thing, I was just wondering what dun coloring is the other day as I looked at our horses. Since I'm still learning everything horsey, there's lots I don't know! (I'm sure hubby knows, AND I found out he can trim their hooves too... he's been trimming one of them each day this week... paint horse will be last tomorrow. Yay!)

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  13. Zounds! I did not know that; that's why I love ABCWed.

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  14. So many "Z"s well done, and a lot of information on the breed too. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Love the shot of him--and his rider--in action. Good looking horse. Rider too. That red sand is so Utah.

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  16. Now that is truly a lesson in zoology ! Never heard of a dun horse. I've heard people curse about dumb horses, but not dun... at least he's not a dunce !

    Take care Janie, thanks for your visits !!!

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  17. Great Zzzz post Janie and one beautiful horse. Thanks for sharing and have a great week.
    Smiles

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  18. Learn something new today, thanks to you!

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  19. I haven't noticed anything like that yet! Quite well-observed!!

    TV Tower on Sinhagad - Going Inside Clouds

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  20. I was first surprised by your title !
    Lots of "z" and great photos !

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  21. Oh, Boss looks beautiful! Love the picture of him zipping along on the trail! It makes me want to come and visit Utah again and go on a trail ride!

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  22. Another enjoyable post! Boss is a beauty, and now I know what a dun horse is as well.

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  23. Thank you for fun and info!
    Your ABC Wedenesday Posts are always so fun.
    Zowie!
    Sherry

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  24. Really enjoyed reading all about the dun horse with all those Z's in it. Educational and amusing! :)

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  25. Great post with Zzzz - loved the name of your post - I have become a huge Utah fan - last summer spent time in Moab - wow and the summer before that Zion - love the red rocks the nature the beauty. '

    Love,
    kelly

    http://www.ivebecomemymother.com

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  26. ZZZZZZZ
    Wow ! Thats an amazing horse. I would like to ride one these. Are they used for racing too ?

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  27. Gorgeous horse - your photos and narrative are always so interesting - I know nothing about horses except ... well, I knew nothing about horses.

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