What colors are horses?

Answer 1

There are many colors and modifiers in the horse breeds. Some breeds are a specific color, for example, the Friesian is black, while some breeds have an unique coloring - an example is the chocolate palomino coloring in the Rocky Mountain Horse. While this coloring is noted in other breeds, it is the unique color of the Rocky Horse.

A black horse is black over its entire body, except for any white markings that may exist. Some horses that appear black have reddish-brown tinting in the hair around their muzzle, eye, flank, and behind the elbows. These horses are not black; they are usually called "seal brown".

Chestnut is a dark red horse (with very dark horses being called liver chestnuts) and sorrel is a lighter red color.

"Flaxen Chestnut" refers to a horse that is chestnut based with a flaxen - or lighter - mane and tail, but not white. These horses are sometimes mistaken as palominos; however, palominos have the cream dilute where Chestnut flaxens do not.

Bay horses are identified by having a reddish brown body and black points (mane, tail, lower legs). There are many types - black (where the horse appears black), mohogany (where the horse has a red tinge, but is darker over the topline), blood (where the base color is a very deep red), sandy (where the base is nothing but brown), and golden (where the base is a very light brown color).

Red Dun is a chestnut based horse with the dun dilute. These horses range from very light orangish color to a darker color. Duns all share one common characteristic - a dorsal stripe (stripe down the spine to the tail head) and should have leg barring - "zebra stripes" on the legs.

Grullas (also spelt grullo) are a black-based horse with the dun dilute. Their color ranges from silvery to a dark blackish color. They will have the dun markings.

Bay Dun is a bay horse with the dun dilute.

Mouse Dun is a brown horse with the dun dilute. They have a very dusty, "mousy" look to them.

Palomino is a goldish body with a white or cream mane and tail. They are formed when a creamed diluted horse is bred to a chestnut. They range from Isabella (where the horse is a very, very light color), to the chocolate (where the base is a very, very dark color.

Buckskin is the same as palomino, with the difference being they are bred from bays. They will have a goldish body with a black mane and tail.They do not have dorsal stripes or leg barring.

Cremello is a double cream diluted chestnut horse. They have a creamy body color and matching mane and tail. They always have blue eyes.

Perlino is the double cream diluted bay-based horse. They will have a creamy body color with a darker orange-tinted points and mane/tail. They also always have blue eyes.

Silver Dapple is the dilution of black pigment on the horse. They will have a chocolately colored body, sometimes with dapples across the body, and a white or creamy mane and tail.

Gold Champagne is a horse with a golden body, and a white mane/tail. They may carry one or two champagne dilute genes, and are usually mistaken for palominos. They usually have a glossy look. they have green/gold/hazel eyes.

Amber Champagne is a hrose with a bay-based body with one or two Champagne genes acting upon it. These horses will have a buckskin or dun look to them, but will be "mousy" in color. They will have green/gold/hazel eyes.

Sable Champagne is a horse with one or two Champagne genes acting upon a seal brown body. They will have a brownish body and green/gold/hazel eyes.

Classic Champagne is a black based horse with the Champagne genes acting upon it. Normally, they will have a dull grey look and green/gold/hazel eyes.

The dun gene can act upon any color. Two other common colors are the Linedback Palominos (Dunalino) where a palomino exhibits the dun characteristics, or the Dunskin, where the buckskin exhibits the dun characteristics.

There are white markings, such as roan, pinto, rabicano, grey, and appaloosa.

Appaloosa - a color breed, appaloosas have spots over the body, in various forms - Snowcap (white rump with spots in it), blanket (where the horse appears to have a white blanket with spots in it), lace blanket (where the horse has white "lacing" across the rump or back), leopard (appears white with colored spots all over it), few-spots (white with a few colored spots across the coat), varnish roan (where the horse appears roan, but is actually appaloosa), and solid (horse has no markings) are the main colorations.

Pinto - white markings on a horse, that look like they have been painted. There are several types - piebald (black horse with large circular white patches), skewbald (the same as piebald, but base color is anything but black), tobiano (irregular, white markings that look like paint has dripped down a horses back - crosses the topline, has white legs), overo (large irregular white blotches, usually with jagged edges, that never cross the topline, usually has solid legs and bald face), tovero (mix between overo and tobiano), frame overo (markings never cross top/bottom line and look like overo markings), splash (looks the the bottom part of the horse was dunked in white paint), and sabino (usually has white legs, and edges of markings have a roan pattern).

Rabicano - white roan markings on the side of the horse, but not occurring through the whole coat.

Roan - white hairs intermixed with regular colored hairs, giving the horse a faded look over the topline, with solid legs and face. The different types are Blue roan (roan on a black, looks blue with black face/legs), Red roan (bay horse with roan, red-tinted-white body with red/brown face and black legs and hair), and Strawberry (roan on a chestnut or sorrel horse), Purple roan (roan on a brown horse).

Grey - the horse is born a solid color, but fades with age. White greys appear white, but are NOT WHITE - they have dark faces, and usually darker legs. Dapple greys have dappling - or light colored circles throughout the coat (can come in dark and light varieties). Steel greys are a dark grey throughout the whole coat, usually with darker points. Rose greys are chestnut horses that have greyed - they have a red or brown tinge to their coat, with darker legs and manes/tails. Fleabitten - has many, tiny dots of color throughout the whole coat (that looks like they have been flea bitten) that range from red to black.