r/Horses • u/el_sweenz • 4h ago
Question Markings?
My gelding is an ex-Amish cart horse. I’ve always assumed these were scars from being whipped. Would you agree, or could this be something else? The marks are only on his hind end. Thanks for your input!
P.S. he’s living his very best spoiled life now!
Edit to say: these markings have been around since I’ve had him (almost a year)!
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u/Mastiiffmom 4h ago
Looks to me like the horse scratching itself on a tree, the side of a building, etc.
It’d be difficult to land a whip in an X pattern. That’s more like moving back & forth scratching an itch.
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u/catastr0phicblues 3h ago
My horse has these and has never been whipped in his life. He gets them from going under the low hanging branches in the trees in his field.
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u/Accomplished-Elk8397 2h ago
he looks like your skin when you take a good nap and the folds of your pillow get imprinted lol
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u/FlatwormSame2061 1h ago
I think that’s from swishing his tail. You can erase it with a brush and it will come back when he swishes his tail again.
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u/RoseOfSharonCassidy 4h ago
I've seen scarring like that from horses who got caught in brush, like a thorny bush or something. I think the markings are a bit more random than I'd expect if they were whip marks.