Bend-Or spots are a type of spotted marking

Horse markings

Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...

 found on horses. They are fairly rare and range in color from slightly darker than the horse's coat to an almost-black shade. These random spots are most commonly seen on palomino

Palomino

Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...

s, chestnuts

Chestnut (coat)

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...

, and darker horses, and may not appear until the horse is several years old. It is still unknown what causes these markings, as they do not appear to be related to other spotting patterns. However, they are often correlated with horses showing sooty traits.

Unrelated patterns may be confused with Bend-Or spots. Some roan

Roan (horse)

Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane and tail—are more solid-colored. The roan pattern is dominantly-inherited, and is found in many horse breeds...

 horses have patches of darker hairs called "corn marks" or "corn spots." While these resemble Bend-Or spots, they are linked to solid-colored hair growing in over minor cuts or scratches to the skin, and thus the underlying genetic cause appears to be unrelated. Another pattern seen primarily in some gray

Gray (horse)

Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...

 horses is dappling, the presence of darker hairs in round shapes against a lighter hair coat. However, dapples are an intermediate stage of the graying process, and will only last a few years.

These markings were named after the Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 stallion

Stallion (horse)

A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...

 Bend Or

Bend Or

Bend Or was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1880 Epsom Derby. His regular jockey Fred Archer, winner of thirteen consecutive British jockey titles, said Bend Or was probably the greatest horse he had ever ridden....

, a chestnut

Chestnut (coat)

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...

who had such spots. Bend Or's pedigree includes several horses with such spots.