page_title: Palomino
section_title: Colors confused with palomino
hierarchical_section_title: Palomino / Colors confused with palomino
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Une pouliche de robe crème
context_page_description: Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat. Palomino is created by a genetic mechanism of incomplete dominance, hence it is not considered true-breeding. However, most color breed registries that record palomino horses were founded before equine coat color genetics were understood as well as they are today, therefore the standard definition of a palomino is based on the visible coat color, not heritability nor the underlying presence of the dilution gene.
  Due to their distinct color, palominos stand out in a show ring, and are much sought after as parade horses. They were particularly popular in movies and television during the 1940s and 1950s. One of the most famous palomino horses was Trigger, known as "the smartest horse in movies", the faithful mount of the Hollywood cowboy star Roy Rogers. Another famous palomino was Mister Ed who starred on his own TV show in the 1960s.
context_section_description: Many non-palominos may also have a gold or tan coat and a light mane and tail.
  Chestnut with flaxen mane and tail:  Lighter chestnuts with a light cream mane and tail carry a flaxen gene, but not a cream dilution.  For example, the Haflinger breed has many light chestnuts with flaxen that may superficially resemble dark palomino, but there is no cream gene in the breed.
  Cremellos carry two copies of the cream gene and have a light mane and tail but also a cream-colored hair coat, rosy pink skin and blue eyes.
  The champagne gene is the most similar palomino mimic, as it creates a golden-colored coat on some horses, but golden champagnes have light skin with mottling, blue eyes at birth, and amber or hazel eyes in adulthood.
  Horses with a very dark brown coat but a flaxen mane and tail are sometimes called "chocolate palomino," and some palomino color registries accept horses of such color.  However, this coloring is not genetically palomino.  There are two primary ways the color is created.  The best-known is a liver chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail.  The genetics that create light flaxen manes and tails on otherwise chestnut horses are not yet fully understood, but they are not the same as the cream dilution.  The other genetic mechanism is derived from the silver dapple gene, which lightens a black coat to dark brown, and affects the mane and tail even more strongly, diluting to cream or near-white.
  Buckskins have a golden body coat but a black mane and tail.  Buckskin is also created by the action of a single cream gene, but on a bay coat.
  Dun horses have a tan body with a darker mane and tail plus primitive markings such as a dorsal stripe down the spine and horizontal striping on the upper back of the forearm.
  The pearl gene in a homozygous state creates a somewhat apricot-colored coat with pale skin.  When crossed with a single cream gene, the resulting horse, often called a "pseudo-double-dilute", appears visually to be a cremello.
caption: A cremello foal, showing pink skin and blue eyes characteristic of full dilution
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