Appaloosa-Mottled or Partly Colored Skin

Mottled or Parti-Colored Skin

This characteristic is unique to the Appaloosa horse. Therefore, mottled skin is a basic and decisive indicator of an Appaloosa. Mottled skin is different from commonly found pink (flesh-colored or non-pigmented) skin in that it normally contains dark areas of pigmented skin within its area. The result is a speckled or blotchy pattern of pigmented and non-pigmented skin. When identifying mottled skin, it is important to not confuse it with simple differences in pigmentation, patches of light and dark skin, and pumpkin skin.