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 Many horses have more or less noticeable darkening on the withers and shoulders in the form of a stripe or shadow (“wing”) perpendicular to the spine with poorly defined boundaries (ssss1).

 A noticeable concentration of dark hair is often found on the neck near the mane.

 A ventral stripe along the horse’s underbelly resembles the dorsal stripe (see ssss1), but it runs down the middle of the abdomen parallel to the spine.

Of all the primitive markings described here, the dorsal stripe is the only one “required” for the categorization of dun color. Zebra bars on the legs are common, but they may not be always noticeable against dark background hair. The remaining markings I’ve mentioned are encountered in different combinations and can be poorly visible. The color of primitive markings varies and depends on the color of a particular horse. They are usually the color of the horse’s guard hair.

Like the bay base color on its own, the Dun gene in combination with bay (bay dun) has many shades. The horse’s body color can vary from brownish red to almost yellow with light reddish or ochre tinges (ssss1). The mane and tail and lower legs are black or sometimes dark brown. In dun horses, the tips of black hair frequently lose their color, and therefore the tail and mane can appear “rusty” due to sun exposure. Primitive markings are black or, less frequently, brown-colored. The following distribution and color of markings is most often observed: The mask is dark red or brown, and cobweb markings and any other admixture of dark hair on the body is black. The dorsal stripe and zebra bars can be either of these two colors. The hooves and skin are pigmented, the eyelashes reddish, and the eyes hazel, or sometimes light hazel or yellowish. Some horses show the pangaré trait (sometimes called “mealy”) with lighter hair along the flanks, belly, inner legs, muzzle, and around the eyes (ssss1 and see ssss1).