Weird belly dapples

It's definitely not common IME, but I've seen some dark bays or browns with them. I've got a photo of one somewhere. Hmmm.

Are those DAPPLES or is that URTICARIA?
If it isn't urticaria ... I have seen instances of horses regulating their body temperature by fluffing or flattening their fur. Because a horses blood supply to the skin is in concentric circles ([i]dapples[/i]) they can/will fluff/flatten their body fur in "spots" like that.
heidi

Urticaria info:
http://www.equestrianandhorse.com/care/…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Urticaria on the neck:
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:dm_P…]
Urticaria on the body/flank:
[img]http://imagebank.ipcmedia.com/imageBank…]

Severe urticaria:
[img]http://www.trackvet.com.au/images/stori…]
[img]http://www.trackvet.com.au/images/stori…]

Ewww poor horses :-( That looks sore. My son used to get that if he went within a mile of a peanut.
The OP pic looks like dapples to me.
Has there been any scientific work on the blood flow pattern making the dapples? I know I mused about it here a while back, but that was working it out myself from various clues!

Whew! They looked like 'bumps' to me and I got all panicked about urticaria, which is just a welt from an allergic reaction. I don't know if they're itchy or painful, maybe a discomfort with the skin being stretched.

My idea about dapples and the skin's blood supply is similar to how I think of Meezer cats whose pointed coat is dependent on temperature and blood flow to govern its' color. Also, when you look at horses going gray, they turn gray fastest where they are warmest ([i]over large muscle masses and blood supples[/i]) and slowest where they are coolest ([i]over bones[/i]). For instance; very gray over the large muscle groups, along blood arteries/veins - especially seen in the leg vessels that supply the hoof with blood and then dark over the leg and face bones in addition to the different color dapple pattern over the barrel where their blood supply *is* delivered in 'circles' ... causing the dapples we see.

This is *also* why when a horse is regulating their body temperature they will sometimes appear to lift/flatten the fur over their bellies in 'spots' because of the circular blood delivery. This lifting/flattening is an effort to regulate between blood flow's inner and outside temps to create an even temperature over the entire surface of the skin.

Note the dapples and especially the gray-streak along the throat's jugular vein:
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:-ejw…]

Note leg gray over blood delivery areas:
[img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:iy-R…]

No they are flat and smooth not fluffed up at all, just strange creamy coloured rings, she only gets them on her belly not on her body like a normal horse's dapples. She even has them now and it is summer and she is not rugged.

She does get similar pattern on her legs too as they are lighter than her body but she also has dark splotches on her legs too.

Ugh, those pics remind mne of what Meli got, we assumed from a bee sting. Head to toe hives with a very high fever and sweat and one very large lump on her belly to top it all off. :shock: It was very scary , I had some banamine in the fridge from something or other and the vet had me give that to her and hose her off and it finally settled. Happened once after that but less and vet had us always keep the banamine around to be safe.

[quote="Heidi"]
My idea about dapples and the skin's blood supply is similar to how I think of Meezer cats whose pointed coat is dependent on temperature and blood flow to govern its' color. Also, when you look at horses going gray, they turn gray fastest where they are warmest ([i]over large muscle masses and blood supples[/i]) and slowest where they are coolest ([i]over bones[/i]). For instance; very gray over the large muscle groups, along blood arteries/veins - especially seen in the leg vessels that supply the hoof with blood and then dark over the leg and face bones in addition to the different color dapple pattern over the barrel where their blood supply *is* delivered in 'circles' ... causing the dapples we see.

This is *also* why when a horse is regulating their body temperature they will sometimes appear to lift/flatten the fur over their bellies in 'spots' because of the circular blood delivery. This lifting/flattening is an effort to regulate between blood flow's inner and outside temps to create an even temperature over the entire surface of the skin.

][/quote]
Thats exactly what I thought too! The idea first came when I remembered when my children were babies they would get weird mottling on their skin when I took their clothes off that looked like dapples, plus the white lines on a greys legs over the veins, plus the siamese thing too. I posted about it on here a good while ago. Great minds and all that :-D

See? We're psychotic! :D
:? [size=85]Psychoti...um...maybe that was supposed to be *psychic*....?[/size] :shock: :lol:

[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:-ejw…] [img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:osa8…]

I also had another thought triggered by looking at the dapple photos ... if my theory of the large muscle groups graying fastest due to temperature has merit, why are the large muscled areas of the haunches still dark? This makes me wonder about the muscles themselves ... specifically "oxygenation" and I wonder if THAT has an influence, or if that *is* the influencing factor? Temperature should remain relatively constant w/in the body, and I would expect cooling of the extremeties that aren't covered with muscle, but the further you get from the heart, the less ability to fully oxygenate.

[i]I know for myself, I do not like cuts of meat from close to the heart. I prefer cuts from furthest away; rump, loin and such. Rib is definitely lowest on my list of meat cuts I 'like' and that is the cut closest to the heart I will eat.[/i]

*I also checked out some pics of meezer body-colors and found that many of them are also slightly darker over the haunches.
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:M4GW…] [img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:h-KX…] [img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:PARq…] [img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5EFa…]

[quote="Heidi"]See? We're psychotic! :D
:? [size=85]Psychoti...um...maybe that was supposed to be *psychic*....?[/size] :shock: :lol:

[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:-ejw…] [img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:osa8…]

I also had another thought triggered by looking at the dapple photos ... if my theory of the large muscle groups graying fastest due to temperature has merit, why are the large muscled areas of the haunches still dark? This makes me wonder about the muscles themselves ... specifically "oxygenation" and I wonder if THAT has an influence, or if that *is* the influencing factor? Temperature should remain relatively constant w/in the body, and I would expect cooling of the extremeties that aren't covered with muscle, but the further you get from the heart, the less ability to fully oxygenate.

[i]I know for myself, I do not like cuts of meat from close to the heart. I prefer cuts from furthest away; rump, loin and such. Rib is definitely lowest on my list of meat cuts I 'like' and that is the cut closest to the heart I will eat.[/i]

*I also checked out some pics of meezer body-colors and found that many of them are also slightly darker over the haunches.
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:M4GW…] [img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:h-KX…] [img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:PARq…] [img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5EFa…]
I have a cold and I'm not thinking too clearly but this post is just making me laugh. To go from psychotic/psychic to dapples, blood flow, cuts of meat and on to pictures of cats.... :rofl

Hey! :shock: I never said I was logical! :lol:

[i]...what time did I post that? ...oh, after midnight. I can't be held accountable for anything I post after midnight.[/i]