White mare gives birth to a black beauty at a riding centre

A rare foal has been born in Suffolk to the UK's only breeding herd of colour-changing horses.

The horse is black at the moment but by the time he is four he will have become completely white.

The famous Camargue horses, bred at Valley Farm Riding Centre in Wicken Market, are born black or brown to help the young foals absorb the sunlight.



But they then shed their coat every autumn and it comes through a lighter shade each year.

Sarah Ling, who co-owns Valley Farm Riding Centre with her husband David Robertson, said: "They gradually go from the ugly duckling to the beautiful swan stage and most of them have changed their coat completely by the time they are four."

Camargue horses are a small breed which come from the Rhone Delta in France, where they are exposed to extremes of hot sun in summer and cold winds in winter.