Rabicano

[2] Rabicano is distinct from true roan, which causes evenly interspersed white hairs throughout the body, except for solid-colored head and legs.

[3] The word appears very early in epic poems in Italian literature: In Orlando Innamorato (1495), "Rabicano" is a magic horse originally ridden by Argalia.

The characteristics most often associated with the rabicano pattern are white hairs at the tailhead and the flank, where the body of the horse is joined by the hindquarters.

Minimal expression may include a few white hairs in those areas, but is often not mentioned in descriptions of an individual horse's color.

However, in highly expressed rabicanos, the distribution of white hairs along the barrel may produce faint striping or stippling over the ribs, which is not seen in true roans.

[4] While rabicano itself does not produce white markings on the face and legs, it can be confused with some of the numerous sabino patterns, one of which has been mapped to the KIT gene.

An extensively expressed rabicano Arabian horse
Classic rabicano markings on flanks and a skunk tail
Skunk tail
Flank ticking
Rabicano on a bay most often is exhibited on the mane and tail.
This horse could be either roan or rabicano; lack of white hairs on forehand and presence of skunk tail suggest rabicano, but overall body pattern is more typical of a roan.