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# Spotted blanket
- URL: https://equinecolors.com/spotted-blanket/
- Published: 2026-06-30T08:55:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-10T11:03:09.000Z
- Description: Spotted blanket is a spotted coat pattern that causes a white area on the hips filled with colored spots, as well as mottled skin, striped hooves and white sclera.
- Author: Hannelore Roodhooft
- Tags: Colors, Patterns & Markings, #Import 2026-08-12 09:42

## Appearance

| Foals | ![Spotted blanket foal](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2026/06/spottedblanketfoal.png) | Foals are born with a spotted blanket.The blanket may change or increasein size with age. Foals can already show**mottled skin**, **striped hooves** and white sclera. They may **lack foal camo**and show **goggles** similar to grey horses. |
| ----- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| A spotted blanket is a **white area** onthe hips with **colored spots** inside.The **size** of the blanket may **vary**from being very small to coveringa large part of the horse. As horsesage, they may **"varnish out"**: whitehairs mix into the colored area of thecoat, making the blanket harder tosee or actually making small blanketsmore apparent. Horses have **mottled**skin, **striped hooves** and **white**sclera. | ![Spotted blanket horse](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2026/06/spottedblanket-1.png) | Adults |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ |

#### Mimics

It can sometimes be difficult to draw a line between large spotted blankets and leopard patterns, especially if the horse has a blanket while young but "varnishes out" with age. Very big spotted blankets are sometimes called "near-leopard".

![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/Equinecolors_Icon_MagnifyingGlass.png) 

The presence of grey may sometimes cause the spots to have a more elongated shape!

## Genetics

Spotted blanket is the result of one copy of the LP-allele, with one copy of PATN1 or other modifying alleles. LP is a dominant allele of the gene.

> Some horses test positive for LP but have no copies of PATN1; yet they still have a spotted blanket pattern. This suggests that there are likely many other, as-yet unidentified, alleles that influence how spotted patterns are expressed!  
>  
> Therefore, in *our game,* [***Horse Reality***](https://www.horsereality.com/?ref=equinecolors.com)*,* we use PATN2 as an extra (untestable) modifier that can cause small blankets etc. The existance of PATN2 was once theorised, but was never proven.

![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/Equinecolors_Icon_DNA1-33.png) 

****Spotted blanket:**  
LP/lp  
LP/lp + PATN1/patn1

[Back to Spotted Coat Patterns](https://equinecolors.com/spotted-coat-patterns)

## Articles

1. Bellone RR, Holl H, Setaluri V, Devi S, Maddodi N, Archer S, Sandmeyer L, Ludwig A, Foerster D, Pruvost M, Reissmann M, Bortfeldt R, Adelson DL, Lim SL, Nelson J, Haase B, Engensteiner M, Leeb T, Forsyth G, Mienaltowski MJ, Mahadevan P, Hofreiter M, Paijmans JL, Gonzalez-Fortes G, Grahn B, Brooks SA; ***Evidence for a retroviral insertion in TRPM1 as the cause of congenital stationary night blindness and leopard complex spotting in the horse***; PLoS One (2013); Doi: [10.1371/journal.pone.0078280](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078280?ref=equinecolors.com)
2. McFadden A, Vierra M, Martin K, Brooks SA, Everts RE, Lafayette C; ***Spotting the Pattern: A Review on White Coat Color in the Domestic Horse*** ; Animals (2024); Doi: [10.3390/ani14030451](https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14030451?ref=equinecolors.com)
3. Terry RB, Archer S, Brooks S, Bernoco D, Bailey E; ***Assignment of the appaloosa coat colour gene (LP) to equine chromosome 1***; Animal Genetics (2004); Doi: [10.1111/j.1365-2052.2004.01113.x](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2052.2004.01113.x?ref=equinecolors.com)

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[![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/10/Image-5.png)](https://www.horsereality.com/?ref=equinecolors.com) 

Learn while playing! Discover how genes shape colors and patterns in our realistic horse breeding game, Horse Reality

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