You will find these terms are often interchanged in horses, donkeys and mules. Since no one can quite decide what the difference is, it's okay to use one for the other in most cases. However, when it comes down to breed specifics, you may find the terms have distinct meanings. (You'll never see a sorrel Arabian - they are always chestnut. Conversely, the Suffolk Punch is always a sorrel, never chestnut. Confusing? You bet!
Basically sorrel is a recessive, paired gene. Both parents contribute one red gene to the offspring. The sorrel (or chestnut) animal has only the genes for RED. (Not black). They can only pass along the RED gene. (The dilutions, dun, roan, etc are separate from base color).
The red color can be modified in SHADE to be very light or very dark. There can be darker hairs mixed in (smutty or sooty) but that is also a different modifier.
Most sorrels or chestnuts are an orangy-red. A lot of Thoroughbreds, Quarter horses, and Arabians are sorrel. The manes may vary in shade from very light yellow to dark almost black, but they are some variant of red.
You can tell a very dark sorrel (in the liver shades) from a brown or black (yes, there is such as thing as a "Black chestnut" by looking at the lower legs - the coronet band and ankle will still be red in a sorrel. Some sorrels will have blonde points - this is a modifyer gene, but happens frequently in the red colors.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!!! |
