By J. Sharon Batteate Camouflage, or protective coloration, in horses and other animals has taken many forms. Before proceeding into the types of striping seen in domestic horses today, some background information on camouflage may be of interest. In general, animals from forest or woodland environments tend to be darker, often with sections of the coat forming into spotted or striped patterns which mimic the effect of light filtering through trees.
Animals also migrate into different environments from which the root stock originally evolved.
In these cases, the adults may eventually evolve and develop protective coloration to match their surroundings, but the young are often still born with the original primitive patterns from which they evolved. An example of this is the tapir, a living relative of the horse. Adult tapirs appear non-striped, but the young are born with light stripes on the body. Similarly, sometimes horse foals are born with primitive patterns and striping, which they loose as they mature. Striping is believed to be the most ancient form of camouflage, and is believed to precede both spotted and monochrome type pattens.