The Dorsal Stripe: Following the Path Horses Mark for Us

If you’ve ever noticed a dark line running head to tail down a horse’s back, you were probably looking at a dun. To most people, it’s just a striking marking. To horse people, it’s called a dorsal stripe. To me, it’s a reminder that nothing in life is coincidence—our paths are marked out long before we see them.

What’s a Dun Horse?

Dun isn’t a breed—it’s a color that traces back to some of the most ancient horses. Mustangs on the plains. Mongolian horses on the steppes. Fjords in Norway. Even donkeys carry the cross on their back, a dorsal stripe with shoulder barring. These markings were survival tools long before they were admired for beauty—camouflage that helped wild herds blend into the land and endure.

Every horse color has its place, and I love them all. But in my herd, it’s the irony of the duns that still makes me pause. Athena, Anya, Tavin, and Gemma (Gloria’s Fjord mare) all carry that stripe. Smokey, her grullo gelding, does too. Amara, my solid black mare, and the ponies—one black, one chestnut—stand out against them, each color with its own story. It’s not better or worse. It’s just what the universe handed me, and years later, I realized why it mattered.

The Cross & the Stripe

There’s a story in Christian tradition that the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem bore a cross across its back, etched by the shadow of His sacrifice. From then on, every donkey carried that mark—a reminder of service, humility, and calling. Whether legend or truth, I see it as no accident that these primitive markings run through history. They’re not just cosmetic. They carry meaning.

The Bigger Picture

When I first dreamed up Crossroads Horsemanship years ago, the dorsal stripe never crossed my mind. Later, when the work shifted into Crossroads Equine Services and eventually into Crossroads Connection, I started to notice: the correlation between Crossroads and The dorsal stripe. A straight line down their back. A path already drawn.

In the universe, i believe there’s no such thing as irony. It all lines up in the bigger picture.

Horses live aligned with their truth. They don’t second-guess, overthink, or explain themselves. They survive by responding instantly, by carrying their markings, instincts, and presence openly. And that’s what they offer to us—an invitation to remember that our own path is already inside us, even if it takes years to recognize.

That’s why I bring people to the horses. To stand beside something ancient, steady, and unashamed of its truth. To see that the same line running down a horse’s back runs through our own stories, too.

👉 If you’re ready to rediscover your stripe, your path, your calling—come join us at Crossroads. The horses already know the way.