Checkerboard patterns are traditional quartermarks.

Quarter marks are the patterns that are back combed into your horse’s hair, generally placed over the hind quarters. They are an elegant addition to your show preparations.

Traditional patterns are checkerboards, diamonds and sharks teeth but there are stencils available that allow a host of different shapes.

Instructions

• Start with a clean horse.
• Spray the hindquarters before you start combing. Some people use water; but the pattern will hold better if you mix in some hair spray, fly spray or something similar.
• Brush the hair on the hind quarters toward the tail with a stiff body brush.
• Take a fine toothed comb, cut to the size of the pattern you want to make downward through the damp hair to make the marks.
• To make Sharks teeth brush the hair downward with a body brush then do sweeping movements toward the tail to create the effect.
• Each new brush stroke is a hatched area, and the diagrams follow on from each other.
• If you use a stencil, place it on your horse. Then take a clean, stiff brush and brush the hair straight up.
• Without moving the stencil, brush the hair backward against the way it naturally lies.
• Remove the stencil and spritz with spray gel again to “set” the mark.
• Finish up by brushing down all the hairs away from the stencil so it doesn’t look framed.

Video demonstration