Curly

Curly coat is a special genetic predisposition in horses that results in a curly coat structure. This is primarily seen in the American Bashkir Curly Horse, but can also be found in various other horse breeds. Curly horses are very popular these days because this coat structure results in milder or no allergy symptoms for many horse allergy sufferers.

The curly coat structure occasionally occurs in combination with hypotrichosis. Genetic variants in two different genes, KRT25 and SP6, are responsible for the curly coat and hypotrichosis. Horses heterozygous or homozygous for only the KRT25 variant show curly coats and hypotrichosis, while horses with only the SP6 variant show curly coats without hypotrichosis. Horses with variants in both genes develop curly hair and hypotrichosis. For the genetic test, both genes are examined separately.