Horse Colors

Here is the coat color Black.  The horse has no hair on his body that could possibly be mistaken for any shade of brown.  White markings are allowed.  Places to check for brown hairs are the muzzle, flanks, and pasterns.  If the horse has any brown hairs, then the horse is not a true black color.  The Black horse can bleach out in the sun and look bay until he sheds his winter coat.  However, black horses that bleach out usually retain their blackness around their eyes, muzzle and lower legs.

Here is the coat color Bay.  The bay horse is generally described as having a reddish or mohagany brown coat color with black points.  "Black points"  mean that all the following parts of the horse are black.  The mane and tail, the muzzle, the tips of the ears, and the legs from the knees and hocks down.  The coat color can vary in shades from light brown to very dark brown.

Here is the coat color Chestnut.  Chestnut is generally described as a red/brown color.  The chestnut horse does not have any black on his body.  Usually the mane and tail are the same color as the coat, but the mane and tail can vary in shades from darker than the body, to lighter than the body, all the way to flaxen (light yellow) colored.

Here is the coat color Sorrel.  Not many breed associations recognize the color "Sorrel".  The AQHA, AMHA (Miniture Horse), and Missouri Fox Trotter Association are the only ones that I am aware of that use this color.  Sorrel is generally described as a Red/Orange coat color.  As with Chestnut, the mane and tail are usually the same shade color as the coat, but can vary from darker than, to lighter than, to Flaxen colored.  It is important to know that if a thoroughbred had a Red/Orange coat color, it would be called a Chestnut and not a Sorrel because the Jockey Club does not recoginize this color.

Here is the coat color Palomino.  These are the golden horses.  The Palomino people describe this coat color as "within three shades of a new mint penny".  Basically, the horse is a golden colored chestnut with a white or flaxen mane and tail.  The mane and tail are never darker than the body color.  The darkest shade that a palomino's mane and tail can be is blonde.  Palomino is not a breed!  It is a color!  To be considered a "Breed", you need to consistantly get a palomino colored foal when breeding two palomino colored horses together and on through the generations.  Chestnut is far too often the result of breeding two palominos together!  So There!!!  Palomino is often called a "color breed" which is where the confusion comes from.  Most any breed of horse can have palominos in that breed which means palomino morgans, palomino saddlebreds, palomino quarter horses.  Palomino is not a "breed"! I recently learned that Arabian horses cannot be palomino. They lack the dilution gene that dilutes chestnut to palomino. However, they can still look pretty golden in color, just genetically, golden arabians are really very light chestnuts.

Here is the coat color Brown.  The horse is generally very dark colored, but not to the point of being black.  The mane and tail are usually the same color as the coat, but can be of slightly varying shades, including black.  If there is any question of whether the horse is black, dark bay or brown, check the muzzle, flank area, legs and mane and tail to help tell the difference. Note: This brown mare bleached from the sun last summer and is now shedding out revealing her dark brown coat.

Here is the coat color Liver Chestnut.  This color is the darkest of the shades of chestnut.  Very often the mane and tail are flaxen colored, but they can be the same color or darker than the coat color as shown in the picture.

Here is the coat color Roan.  A roan is a colored horse with white hairs throughout his body.  Generally the legs and the head do not have the roaning effect.  The horse is born roan and keeps the same amount of white throughout his life.  As opposed to gray where he usually gets more and more white.  A Red Roan has a bay, sorrel or chestnut base coat. A Blue Roan has a black base coat. Strawberry Roan generally has a sorrel or chestnut base coat and usually it depends on what breed the horse is. For example, a roan chestnut Quarter Horse would be called "Red Roan" while a roan chestnut Arabian would be called "Strawberry Roan".

Here is the coat color Gray.   Usually, the horse is born a certain coat color, then becomes progressively more gray each time it sheds its winter coat. By the time the horse gets old, it usually has become completely white.  It is interesting to note that the only way a horse can have the gray color is by inheriting the color from at least one of his parents.  If neither parent is a gray, then you cannot get a gray foal.

Here is the coat color Fleabitten Gray.  The horse has light brown flecks covering a gray background. This is often an intermediate aging stage of the gray horse.  Sometimes the flecks can appear in a large patch called "Blood Spots".  I personally knew a Fleabitten Saddlebred mare with such a spot.  It covered her right ear and face, and looked like she had a massive head wound.

Here is the coat color Buckskin.  The horse has black points and his coat color can be varying shades of tan from yellowish to dark brownish.  Sources disagree, but most say that a buckskin does not have a dorsal stripe.

Now on to Dun.  The dun horse has black to dark brown points with a tan coat color that can vary in it shades. Most duns have a Transverse Stripe that crosses the withers and/or zebra bars on the knees/hocks areas.  Again, Sources disagree, but most say that a dun must have a dorsal stripe.  Variations of the dun are Yellow Dun, Red Dun, Claybank Dun, and more. The horse in the picture is a Red Dun.

Here is the coat color Grullo [pronounced Grew - Yo]. "Grulla" is the same color but is used for the female horse since the word is of Spanish origin. The horse has black points and has a mousy colored coat.  The head remains darker than the rest of the coat.  Grullos usually have a dorsal stripe.

Here is the pinto coat Skewbald.  The coat can be any color, except black, and has white patches or "spots" on the body. In short, Skewbald is a colored and white horse.  The pinto patterns can be Tobiano, Overo, Sabino, Tovero and more.  These patterns will be discussed in another section.

Here is the pinto coat Piebald.  The coat is black, and has white patches or "spots" on the body. In short, Piebald is a black and white horse (of course the white goes beyond regular white markings).  As with Skewbald, the actual pinto pattern can vary.

Dapples can appear on any colored horse, including black. A dappled horse has darker shaded "rings" clustered in areas of the horses body. Most commonly, dapples appear on the barrel and neck of the horse, but they can be in other areas or even completely cover the horse's body. Horses with dapples are commonly refered to as "Dapple Gray", "Dapple Chestnut", etc. This picture is of a dappled palomino.

Zebra Bars are primitive markings most frequently seen on Dun colored horses. The Bars are usually faded horizontal stripes on the knees and hocks, or just above those joints.

Dorsal Stripe is a single dark stripe that travels from the forelock to the dock of the horse. Usually Duns have this feature, but I have seen bays and browns with dorsal stripes, though the stripe is not so prominent in bays and browns. Dorsal Stripe is also known as "eel stripe.

Learn the Pinto patterns

Learn the Appaloosa patterns

Learn of... White?!

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