Breed Unknown

Question
I recently adopted a teenaged (between 12-16 years) gelding from a rescue organization.  They said they thought he was a TB appendix.  That suits me, and seems to be accurate enough.  My question is though, he has small white hairs in small splotches placed very sporadically on his body. They're not concentrated white spots, but just sparse white hairs in his chestnut coat.  He has one white small dot that is pure white (about the size of a large pea) above his brow, he does have a white stripe and snip, and on his rump and hip area, a few of these faint white splotches here and there.  I don't ever recall seeing a solid chestnut horse or a horse of any other solid color with a smattering of these white areas.  Does this relate to a particular breed that might be in his ancestry?  I know that white-hair areas can be related to pressure points such as ill-fitting tack and saddles, but these areas are inconsistent with riding equipment.  Standing back from him, you would just think he is all chestnut, but up close you can notice these areas.
Just curious since I know nothing factual about his breed.
Thank you,
Joan

Answer
Joan:

unfortunately, being a veterinarian does not make me an expert on coat color and breeds. Also, its hard to comment without seeing the horse. There are body size and morphological characteristics that suggest certain breeds too. The interspersing of the white hairs you describe also reminds me of the roan coat color too. Ive seen that in TB horses and in Quarter Horses. That makes sense with what you have told me you were told. There is genetic testing available if you are really curious about his heritage. It can be done on whole blood or hair follicles. They may be able to match the genetic fingerprint of your horse to known genetic fingerprint characteristics of various breeds and then give you a description of how and what breeds are mixed in your horse. Let me know if you wish to pursue this at all and I will get you the information for their contact. My best.