Horse Colours Horse Colours Horses can come in a variety of different colours. Bay A brown horse with a black mane and tail: Light Bay Light bay has a light brown coat with a black mane and tail. Dark Bay Dark bay has a darker brown coat with a black mane and tail. Black Black coat, mane and tail colouring. Brown Brown mane, tail and coat colouring. Buckskin Black mane, tail and points with a dun, golden or cream coat colour Chestnut Horses with light or dark red coat colouring similar to that of the nut of the chestut tree are said to be chesnut: Liver Chestnut Liver Chestnut is a deep orange colour, covering the mane, tail and coat. Chestnut Chestnut is a lighter colour than the liver covering the mane, tail and coat. Sorrel Sorrel is more red in colour than the Chestnut. Grey The horse will have white body, mane and tail with categories including: Flea Bitten Grey Flea Bitten grey is a white horse with dark flecks throughout the coat. Iron Grey Iron grey is a very dark type of grey covering the mane, tail and coat.

Cremellis Cremellis a cream coloured horse with blue eyes. Albino Albino is a white horse with pink skin with pink eyes Dappled Grey Dappled grey is a white horse with dark grey circular patches that give a dappled effect. Palomino A light golden colour. The mane and tail can be lighter than the coat Colours Continued... Horses will have a solid base colour with white flecks throughout: Strawberry Roan - Chestnut with white flecks throughout the coat. Blue Roan - Black base colour with white flecks throughout the coat. Bay Roan - Bay base coat with white flecks throughout the coat and with black points, mane and tail. Piebald A horse which has patches of black and white throughout its coat. The mane and tail are often two toned also. Skewbald A horse which has black, brown and white coloured patches throughout its coat. Tobian Large white patches often with a dark face and white legs. Overos Splash Overos Splash Overos have their legs and underbelly covered in white with a white face and tail in one colour.

Frame Overos How to Distinguish Horse Color by Name: 4 Steps (with Pictures) How to Distinguish Horse Color by Name Community Q&A Have you ever seen a horse or pony being ridden and wondered why the rider picked that colored horse? Have you ever seen a horse that looked pretty, but you didn't know the color of the horse? Horse colors are generally easy but some are quite hard. Here is an easy way to tell what color a horse is. Steps Learn some basic terminology: Points: This is referring to the the ears, lower legs, and mane and tail. Mane: The longer hairs growing along the ridge of a horse's neck, from between the ears to the base of the withers. Tail: The long hairs growing from the tailbone.

White leg markings: These are situated on the leg regions and include the coronet band (very close to the hoof), white heel (very close to the heel, but situated near the caudal wall), sock (comes right above the pastern), half stocking (comes halfway between the pastern and knee), stocking (touches or above the knee), irregular stocking (stocking that only part of it is above the knee and the other is below it), ermine spots (irregular dark patches near the hoof inside white markings), and pastern (comes just to the pastern). Facial markings: These are situated on the head and forehead and include: Star (little mark on forehead) Snip (little mark on muzzle) Blaze (Wide stripe of white down the front of the face) Stripe (Very thin stripe of white down the front of the face) Bald/white face (Very wide blaze that goes includes the horses eyes) Eye colours: To help tell the different colours apart, though not common, these names may appear: Eye wall, blue eye, teal eye, glass eye, white sclera. Horses can have blue, brown, green, hazel, gold, and red eyes.

Other important features of a horse's colour include: Spots, patches, predominant and base coat. 2 Learn the next features. Within each subcategory, there are mixtures and variations. Here are some colours and distinguishing points. Bay: Various shades of brown body colour with black points. There are many types of bay; light bay (the brown is of a light shade), blood bay (the brown has a very deep red tone), mahogany bay (where the brown has a dark purple tinge, usually sooty and more brown), standard bay (where the brown is "flat", no red tinge), golden bay (where the base coat takes on a yellow color), and primitive or "wild" bay (the black markings are faint, and the horse usually has obvious dangerous characteristics). Chestnut or Sorrel: Chestnut or sorrel is defined as a horse with no black hairs. Chestnut is a dark red horse. Very dark chestnuts are called liver chestnuts. Sorrels are more brightly colored, with a lighter coat color. For either, the mane/tail should be the same color as the body. Either color with flaxen mane and tails should have "Flaxen" put in front of the name.

Sorrels are often flaxen. Liver chestnut: They are a dark chestnut red-brown colour, appearing to have black in their coat - but they do not. The individual hairs are just very dark red. These horses can also have a flaxen or taffy mane and tail. Black: There is no other color on the horse except black; all points and hairs are black (except for any white markings). Mane and Tail are black. There are a few types of black; Pitch or Raven black, which never fades - Black, which fades in the sun - and smokey black, where the horse looks black at a distance, but closer the horse has a brown tinge. Grey or White grey: These horses may look white, but they are not. Their skin is dark and they have dark pigmentation around their eyes, ears and nose. They are born another color, and fade progressively with age. Dapple grey: These horses are still grey, but have 'dapples'. Dapples are little lighter or darker spots. A normal dapple grey is grey with lighter spots; however an 'inverted' dapple grey is grey with darker spots. Dapple greys can be very light and very dark.

Steel grey: This color is when a horse is dark grey, usually with slightly darker points. They have no dappling. Flea-bitten Grey: It looks like it sounds -- imagine a horse that has been bitten by fleas. It looks like it has tiny black, brown, or red spots about the size of a few pinheads. Their mane and tail will be grey or white and there will often be variations of these colours by way of shades. Rose Grey: A chestnut horse that has turned grey. They have a purple, red, or brown tinge to their coats throughout the greying process. They can have dapples. Their manes are darker than the coat color. Duns: Duns come in many colors, such as Red (dun and chestnut/sorrel), Grullo (black horse with dun factor, black points and faded grey to dark brown body), bay (bay horse with dun factor), and Mouse (dun on a Brown horse; very murky tan coloring). Duns have a face mask (dark face), dorsal stripe, leg barring(zebra stripes on the legs), dark points, and dark mane/tails. They are not to be confused with Buckskins, which only come in one color.

3 Buckskin: Buckskins are very similar to a dun, but they do not have leg barring or a dorsal stripe. They have a yellow base color (ranging from dark gold to yellow) and black legs/black points similar to a Bay. Their mane and tail is black. They can be dappled. Palominos: These should be less than 20% black. Palominos typically have a lighter color main/tail than their bodies, but can be near the same shade; their shades range from cream to a near chocolate. They are commonly mistaken for champagnes. Dilutes: Come in many varying degrees of colour and pigmentation. Many people think of Dilutes as Albino, when in fact they are not. A dilute is Perlino, Cremello, and Champagne. Cremellos are a Dilute of Chestnut, Perlino of Bay and Smokey Cream on Black. The cream gene is a dominant gene, and for a Cremello, Perlino or Smokey, there must be two cream genes present in the parents.

If only one is present, a chestnut would then be Palomino with white main and tail and with a dark pigmented horse such as Bay you would get a Palomino with a black mane and tail. Cremellos have Blue eyes. Champagne is another dilution gene that acts on the base color of a horse to produce a lighter color. It is a dominant gene, so one or two genes have the same affect, and a horse must have a champagne parent to be a champagne. The champagne gene dilutes red pigment to a yellow color, and black pigment to a chocolate grayish color that is sometimes mistaken for grulla. They have freckled skin, and green/hazel/golden eyes. Albinos: These horses are actually from a recessive gene. Many people think of them a Dilutes. They are known as Dominant Whites when registered, and the Albinos are commonly born with Pink or red pigmented eyes and pink non pigmented skin. They often look the same as Cremellos, however, they have a different genetic makeup and research shows the Albinism comes from a Recessive gene, compared to Perlino and Cremello have a Dominant gene.

Roan: Roans are a solid colour with white flecking throughout the coat. They come in many colours: Strawberry is a Chestnut colour with white flecking making it seem pink. A Blue Roan is a black with white flecks giving a blue tinge. A red Roan is bay with white flecks giving it a red look. Their manes and tails correspond with their base coat, but can be flaxen for strawberry roans, and other roans can have frosting (where the top of the mane/tail is very light in color). Brown: This is a basic colour and really a Brown horse is well - brown. The exact genetics of brown are not very well understood. They are not the same as chestnut or black. The only defined type of brown is seal brown, where the base color is very dark and they have pangare type markings, where the belly/croup/muzzle/eye area is much lighter in color. Pinto: Pintos are known for their irregular patterning, which is a modifying white gene.

They come in many variations, such as piebald (black and white, large irregular patches of white), skewbald (same as piebald, except base color is anything but black), tobiano (white markings are irregular, and cross over the topline, have white legs), overo (large irregular circles never crossing the topline, usually have bald face and solid legs), tovero (mixture of tobiano and overo), frame overo (overo, but white splotches never cross topline or bottomline), splash (the bottom part of the horse and legs are white, as if they were dipped in white paint), and sabino (where the edge of the markings have roan characteristics). They can occur on any base color. Paint: Paints are actually a colour breed. They are basically pinto coloured with either Quarter Horses registry but may also have Thoroughbred breeding as well. They also come in all the variations that pintos do. Their patches are large and do not go from side to side. To be a Pinto or a Paint,their leg markings should be past their hocks and knees if no main coloration occurs.

Appaloosa or Spotted: No Appaloosa has the same patterning of spots. Appaloosas come in a wide variety of colours, but the basic patterns include: Snowflake, Blanket, Few Spot, Solid, Leopard, varnish roan, and Snowcap. They have a white sclera and always have striped hooves and spotted genitalia and muzzle. 4 Learn this list well! Next time you look at a horse, pinpoint the markings that can provide you with clues to what colour it is and check against this list. Community Q&A My colt is a chocolate color with a silver roan. What would this be called? wikiHow Contributor If his mane is black, he's probably a bay roan; if his mane is chocolate, he's probably a liver-chestnut roan. Can Palominos have a slight grey in color mane? wikiHow Contributor If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Tips The sun bleaches the coat's colour so often in summer that they will look lighter, though some may get rugged so they will actually become darker.

Remember, a horse sheds or when the coat grows back, it may be a different shade or color, and as they get older, their coats may get lighter. In winter, their hairy winter coat comes in, often making their coat look mousy and grey. Always approach a horse from the front, not the back. Things You'll Need The Golden Palomino Horse Cowgirl Gifts The Golden Palomino Horse A palomino horse or pony must have a body colour of a newly minted gold coin. It may vary to three shades lighter or darker of the colour range prescribed by the society. A palomino must have a mane and tail of white, silver or ivory with no more than 15% of dark or chestnut hair in either the mane or tail. The palomino must not have spots or patches of black, white, brown or chestnut hair exceeding four (4) square centimetres. The body shall be free of imperfections and only white markings are permitted on the face and legs (except of caused by scald or accident). Markings appearing above the knee and hocks must be of a continuous diminishing spear or at the Classifiers discretion.

There shall be no dorsal stripe or barring and the basic colour of the skin shall be dark. Eyes shall be dark and the same colour. Full body clipping is allowable but natural coat is preferred and no other interference to the natural coat is permissable. When being presented for classification the mane must be not less than ten (10) centimetres in length and the horse/pony should be in a clean and tidy condition. The palomino horse/pony must be a good representative of the Breed it represents and be of a Saddle Type. Australian Palomino Horse Association Inc. Did You Know? Other Names the palomino horse has been known by include: cream, creamy with light mane and tail, Isabella, Ysabelle, golden, palomillo, sovereign creamy Breeding Facts The ideal palomino horse is gold with white mane and tail. Genetic palomino is any shade of gold, sooty or cream, caused by the dilution of chestnut. There is no palomino gene therefore palomino can never become a breed. Palomino bred to palomino gives a 25 per cent of producting cremello.

Palomino bred to palomino gives a 50 per cent chance of producing palomino. Palomino bred to chestnut never produces cremello. Palomino bred to chestnut gives a 50 percent chance of producing palomino. Cremello bred to chestnut gives a 100 percent chance of producing palomino. The ideal chestnut for palomino production is the cherry red with flaxen mane and tail. The parents should not exhibit smuts, spots, patches, dapples or white or dark hairs. Horse Colour Explainied, A Breeders Perspective by Jeanette Gower Famous Palomino Horses Due to their unusual 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 golden palomino horses was Trigger, known as "the smartest horse in movies," the faithful mount of the Hollywood Cowboy star Roy Rogers. Trigger (1932–3 July 1965) was 15.3 hands high.

Trigger was four years old when Roy started using him in his films. He was born and raised on a small ranch near San Diego. Originally named Golden Cloud, in honor of his owner and original trainer, Roy Cloud, he was the offspring of a palomino stud named Tarzan and a light chestnut half-Thoroughbred mare. The horse, purchased by Rogers himself from a rental stable near Los Angeles, eventually acquired a repertoire of more than 50 tricks, including doing simple arithmetic and signing an “X” with a pencil. “The World’s Smartest Horse” was featured prominently at Rogers’s many stage shows and personal appearances, which included an annual visit to the giant World’s Championship Rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York. On July 3, 1965, the original Trigger died at the age of 33. In the late 40’s, Roy bought a beautiful palomino Tennessee Walking Horse stallion that he named Trigger Jr. Randall taught this horse a full range of crowd-pleasing tricks and even taught him to dance. Roy used him occasionally in films and extensively in personal appearances throughout the 50’s and 60’s. Roy used Trigger Jr.

as a stud and raised some good palomino foals on his Happy Trails Ranch in Oro Grande, California. Trigger and Trigger Jr. have all been beautifully mounted and were on display at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri till it closed in December 2009 Bamboo Harvester (1949-1970) was the Palomino equine star of the comedy series Mr.Ed which aired betweeen 1961-1966. Mr Ed was a crossbred gelding of American Saddlebred, Arabian and grade ancestry. Foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California, the gelding was trained by Will Rogers' protege, Les Hilton. With Hilton's help, Bamboo Harvester showcased Ed's remarkable intelligence. Ed was voice-trained for the show by Les Hilton. Lane remained anonymous as the voice of Mister Ed, and the show's producers referred to him only as "an actor who prefers to remain nameless," though once the show became a hit, Lane campaigned the producers for credit, which he never received. The credits listed Mister Ed as playing "Himself"; however, his family tree name was Bamboo Harvester.

Ed's stablemate, a quarter horse named Pumpkin, who was later to appear in the television series Green Acres, was also Ed's stunt double in the show. In 1968, two years after the cancellation of Mr. Ed, at the age of 19, Bamboo began to suffer from a variety of age related ailments, including kidney problems and arthritis. He was quietly euthanized in 1970. A second palomino horse, which had posed for still pictures used in press kits for the show, survived until 1979. After Bamboo Harvester's death in 1970, the second horse was unofficially known as Mr. Ed. Mr. Ed Theme Song Horse is a horse, of course, of course, And no one can talk to a horse of course That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed. Go right to the source and ask the horse He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse. He's always on a steady course. Talk to Mister Ed. People yakkity yak a streak and waste your time of day But Mr.

Ed will never speak unless he has something to say A horse is a horse, of course, of course, And this one'll talk 'til his voice is hoarse. You never heard of a talking horse? Well listen to this: "I'm Mister Ed." Embrace the Cowgirl Spirit! Saddle up a horse and go riding! Palomino | Define Palomino at Dictionary.com palomino noun, plural palominos. 1. a horse with a golden coat, a white mane and tail, and often white markings on the face and legs, developed chiefly in the southwestern U.S. Origin of palomino Latin 1910-1915 1910-15, Americanism; < American Spanish, special use of Spanish palomino of, resembling a dove < Latin palumbīnus, equivalent to palumb(ēs) dove + -īnus -ine 1 Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for palomino Expand Historical Examples When the Owl Cries Paul Bartlett General palomino, understanding the importance of my undertaking, interested himself in the result.

British Dictionary definitions for palomino Expand a golden horse with a cream or white mane and tail Word Origin American Spanish, from Spanish: dovelike, from Latin palumbīnus, from palumbēs ring dove Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for palomino Expand n. 1914, from American Spanish palomino "cream-colored horse," from Spanish, literally "young dove," perhaps from Italian palombino "dove-colored," from Latin palumbinus "of wood pigeons," from palumba "wood pigeon" (see fallow (adj.)). The horse so called because of its dove-like coloring, light brown or cream with a pale mane and tail.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Horse Colours And Patterns Home » Information » About Horses » Horse Colours And Markings Horse Colours And Patterns Cremello: Although there is no true Albino in the horse Cremellos have often been referred to as Albinos in the past. The body, mane and tail of a Cremello horse is extremely pale and can range from almost white to a pale cream and they have blue eyes. The skin is pale and so Cremello horses can be particularly prone to sunburn during the summer months. Appaloosa: See Spotted . Bay: The body is brown and the mane, tail and legs from the knee downwards are black. The shade of brown can vary from very pale brown, to bright orange-brown to very dark brown. Bay is the most common colour in the horse. Black: The body, mane and tail is black. Some black horses may lighten during the summer in the sun and show some brown tint. Brown: The body, mane and tail is dark brown. Chestnut: The body and legs are golden or ginger although the shade can vary from very light gold to a dark brownish ginger.

The mane and tail are the same colour as the body. Dun: The body is creamy golden although it may vary from very pale to a rich creamy gold. The mane and tail are black and there is a black line running down the back. Grey: There are various types of grey with some horses being very pale, almost white, with very little grey hairs showing to horses that are a very dark and obvious grey. The mane and tail are grey. Grey horses are born another colour eg black, brown, chestnut, etc and as the horse matures its coat turns grey. Palomino: The body is golden although the shade can vary from very pale golden to a rich golden. The mane and tail are white. Piebald: Piebald is a black horse with the overo and/or tovero pattern or a combination of the two. The amount of white and black can vary immensely and the patterning on each horse is unique. The mane and tail may be either black, white or both black and white. The black patches on some Piebalds may lighten in the summer due to the sun. Roan: Roan is a coat pattern that can be combined with any colour.

The body is coloured with white hairs ticked through the coat. The colouring on the body can be any colour and different names are often given depending on the base colour. For example a Chestnut Roan is referred to as "Strawberry Roan" and a Grey Roan is referred to as "Blue Roan". Spotted: Spotted is a coat pattern that can be combined with any colour. There are several distinct spotted patterns and each horse is unique. "Leopard Spot" is a white horse with evenly distributed coloured spots, "Near Leopard" is similar to Leopard Spot but with coloured head and legs, "Spotted Blanket" is mainly coloured with a white back and/or hindquarters within which there are coloured spots, "White Blanket" is mainly coloured with a white back and/or hindquarters without spots, "Snowflake" is coloured with white spots over the body, "Frosted Hip" or "Frosted Blanket" is coloured with white frosting or white spots over the loin and hips, "Marble" is coloured at birth but roans with age to almost white, "Few Spot" or "Few Spot Leopard" is white with just a few spots.

Spotted horses of various breeding are also sometimes referred to as Appaloosa, although Appaloosa is in fact a breed of horse with mustang origins. Skewbald: Skewbald is a horse of any colour other than black with the overo and/or tovero pattern. The amount of white and coloured patches can vary immensely and the patterning on each horse is unique. The coloured patches can be any colour other than black eg Bay, Dun, Chestnut, Brown, Grey, Palomino, etc. As Bay horses show 2 colours (black and brown), a Bay Skewbald may show 3 colours (black, brown and white) and is then sometimes referred to as a Tri-Colour. Some chestnuts may appear to be 'wishy washy' and end up being described as 'palomino' where they also have flaxen / white manes and tails. As the vast majority of these owe their faded colouring to the pangare (mealy) gene, the most correct (and genetically informative) name for this colour is "Mealy Chestnut" (or "Light Mealy Chestnut" if very markedly pale).

Breed societies please be aware: you can't 'breed out' mealy chestnuts, no matter how much you exclude them from the breeding stock, unless you also exclude mealy-muzzled-bays and browns! Similarly, you won't breed out the 'white-maned light chestnut' without breeding out the flaxen gene as well. The 'wishy-washy-chestnut' is most commonly produced by an inheritance (either single or double) of the pangare / mealy gene, acting on a chestnut base coat. If your chestnut is homozygous (i.e. inherited from both parents) for pangare, he / she will have a distinctly faded chestnut coat, to the extent of being quite creamy in the 'mealy areas' (muzzle, flanks, groin, armpit, under-chest and belly). The lower legs will be gold, rather than red. The clue is in the coat patterning, as pangare is a 'pattern dilutant', unlike cream which is a 'flat dilutant'.

If your horse is homozygous for both pangare and flaxen, you will have an animal which is visually very similar to a palomino - but does not carry the cream gene at all. A less-common explanation for the apparent 'wishy-washy chestnut' is that he's actually a red dun / chestnut dun - in which case he will show the correct dun dorsal stripe and (if you look hard for them!) some or all of the other dun patterns. Haflinger horses, which often look 'palomino', are frequently homozygous for pangare, and are all homozygous for flaxen and chestnut. However, there's no cream in the Haflinger gene pool. You can breed 'apparently palomino' Haflingers together to your heart's content and (provided they're pure Haflinger!) you'll never get a blue-eyed cream. The pangare influence in Haflingers can be clearly seen in the picture to the left.

(skunk-tailed, topline-frosted and mane-frosted, with ticking throughout the body) As the roaning genes are distinct from one another, it's perfectly possible for a horse to inherit more than one roaning pattern. The combinations of roaning genes can produce some truly beautiful 'marbled roans' - 'double-roaned' and even 'treble-roaned' coats. Do be aware that not all roans are the same! For example, a rabicano without the classic roan gene cannot produce classic roan offspring unless the other parent has the classic roan gene. Only extreme white markings, double-cream dilution or the grey gene can hide the classic roan gene, so if a foal is said to be by a 'roan' stallion which is actually a rabicano, not a classic roan, the foal is, itself, classic roan but doesn't have a classic roan dam, the sire is not the one claimed! Look for an alternative sire with the classic roan gene - even if he's now turned grey.

(This is one reason why colour identification information in registrations needs to distinguish between the different roans - so that actual parentage can at least be checked on sight rather than having to resort to DNA testing.) Many people get strawberry and red roans mixed up; but the difference is easy. If the underlying coat colour (check the mane and tail!) is BAY (or bay-brown), you have a "bay roan" or "red roan" (the names are interchangeable). If the underlying colour is CHESTNUT then your roan is "chestnut roan" or "strawberry roan". To avoid confusion, it's much better to define your horse's colour as bay roan or chestnut roan, and drop the use of 'strawberry' and 'red'. (Yes, the strawberries are past their use-by date .....) Check out the muzzle, inner leg areas and underbelly of a supposedly blue roan horse; if they contain red or brown hairs, then he's technically a dark (or sooty) bay roan, a brown roan, or a black-brown (or sooty brown) roan.

This very blue bay roan colouring is caused by an inheritance of EE or Ee plus AA or Aa (creating the bay / brown base coat), maybe plus the sooty gene, and classic roan. Roans come in a variety of shades from very dark to very pale, depending on the 'richness' of the underlying coat (any dilution factors), and the amount of white hairs added. Dun can dilute both red and black coat pigment. The dun gene is a simple dominant - if you've got it, it shows, and it will have shown it at least one parent. The dun gene seems to affect the distribution of pigment granules in the hair, moving pigment away from the 'air-side' of the hair and towards the 'skin-side' of the hair, leaving the part of the hair which is clearly visible with much fewer pigment granules - hence the dilution of visible colour. It is the one responsible for the primitive markings of dorsal stripe, shoulder stripe, and zebra / tiger stripes. "Cobweb" markings can also appear on the forehead. Additional dun markings are face mask, neck and / or shoulder shadowing, 'barbs' from the dorsal stripe, and ear tipping, outlining and barring.

Duns also have dun dilution (the same colour as the body coat or a few shades lighter) at the sides of the mane and the frost-cap at the top of the tail. Dun doesn't touch the lower legs, so it's what I call a 'pattern dilutant'. To the best of current knowledge there appears to be no visual difference if a horse has inherited one or two dun dilution genes. If he has inherited the dun gene from both parents, of course, he will pass it on to ALL his descendants. For (probably) the best article on distinguishing between true duns and buckskins (cream dilutes) with counter-shading caused by the sooty gene, see Dun Central Station's excellent article "What's Dun is Dun!" .. Breed Societies, please try to ensure that duns are registered under their right colour! It's unhelpful when researching pedigrees if every type of dun is simply registered as 'dun', as opposed to golden dun, mouse dun, blue dun, (any of which could be 'silvered'), and red dun, etc.! And please don't register buckskins as duns!

Pictures of 'true duns' and colours frequently confused with (and mis-registered as) dun can be seen on our ' Dun and Un-Dun ' page. Cream in a single dose dilutes only red hairs. Cream is an 'incomplete dominant' - a double dose will give you more dilution than a single dose, and a single dose is hard to spot on a black coat. The cream gene affects the uptake of pigment into the hair - each hair contains less pigment than the basecoat unmodified by the cream gene. A double dose gives you double dilution, can affect black hairs, too, and reduces the production of skin pigment. But it also interacts with the recessive pearl (both genes affecting the production rather than the distribution of pigment granules) to produce what appears to be a double-cream dilution (cremello / perlino). Cream is a 'flat dilutant' - affects the whole coat pretty evenly - but often gives slight dappling. Champagne, like dun, dilutes both red and black pigments, but does NOT produce the primitive markings.

The champagne gene, like the dun gene, is a simple dominant - if you've got it, it shows, and it will have shown it at least one parent. Like the dun gene, it affects the distribution of pigment granules in the hair, completely (or almost completely) removing pigment granules from the core of the hair shaft into the surrounding cortex. The core is translucent - giving the 'metallic gloss' or 'translucent glow' to the coat, as opposed to the opaque colour of the non-champagne coat. Champagne horses are born with brown hooves, pink skin, and blue eyes which eventually (and gradually) become hazel, amber or occasionally blue-green at adulthood. They tend to be born with relatively dark coats, which fade out later. (A foal born 'chestnutty' with blue eyes, which turns 'goldy' with hazel eyes, is likely to be a gold champagne.) I would classify champagne as a 'flat dilutant'. Do note, some other 'dilutes' can be born with blue eyes which darken within the first week of life, but champagne eyes only darken gradually.

Champagne skin shows distinct freckling in the 'soft' areas (muzzle, around eyes, genitalia and dock) and is 'goldenish' under chestnut hair and 'bronze-ish' or 'chocolate-ish' under dark hair. Silver dilutes only black hairs, and is the gene responsible for the silvering of dark (i.e. including black) manes and tails. (Don't confuse rabicano roaning in the mane, and rabicano 'skunk-tail', for silver gene dilution.) The silver gene is a simple dominant, and affects the uptake of black pigment into the hairs, predominantly in the coarser mane and tail hairs. (Flaxen acts the same way on red / chestnut pigment.) The silver gene originated in the pre-historic Northern British ponies, probably around the close of the last ice age, from where it was taken by the Vikings to Iceland. Current distribution of the gene in the 'older' breeds suggests it originated in Britain rather than Scandinavia, as the silver gene appears in Shetlands but not in the Norwegian Fjord Horse. It is very common in the Icelandic horses .

It's likely that there is more than one variant (or allele) of the silver gene. It's important not to lose the silver gene - by accident or on purpose! - from the breeds where it's likely to be a native gene; this would include the Shetlands and Welsh ponies (definitely), and the Highland and New Forest ponies (probably). Breed Societies, please be careful (where you can) to ensure that chocolate flaxes and chocolate dapples aren't registered as liver chestnuts, silver bays aren't registered as flaxen chestnuts, and silver gold duns aren't registered as palominos. For breeders looking either to include or to exclude specific colour genes, it's helpful to know what has them! Pearl is a recessive gene which can interact with cream, and is a 'flat dilutant' rather than a 'pattern dilutant'. One dose of pearl won't change the coat colour of black, bay or chestnut horses (unless interacting with cream), but does appear to affect the skin colour, producing pink speckles. The pearl gene affects production / uptake of pigment.

Two doses on a chestnut background produce, in adulthood, a uniform apricot / peach / pale golden colour of body hair, mane and tail, with pink / pale skin, and pale eyes (ageing to an amber colour). Double-pearl foals are generally pale cream, the coat gradually turning golden later. Pearl (at present) appears in horses with Spanish ancestry, or those descended from a horse called My Tontime, the grand-dam of Barlink Macho Man. It also seems to occur in some Gypsy horses (probably again due to a Spanish inheritance). It has also been known as 'apricot' or 'Barlink factor'. Pearl + cream on a black basecoat produces 'smoky pearl' horses, and on a bay basecoat produces a colour very similar to perlino. The "UFO's" of genes: 'fading black / light black'. I'm including it with the dilutants for two reasons. Firstly, it's my web page, so I can! Secondly (and more logically), it's because I strongly suspect that this, when isolated and identified, will eventually be shown to be a recessive or partially-recessive gene.

It seems likely that the actual mechanism behind 'fading black' is to do with the production (synthesis) of eumelanin, and a form of eumelanin is produced which is 'photo-unstable' (i.e. breaks down on exposure to light). It also seems likely that there is a an interaction with at least one other gene, as the fading can be produced with or without patterning. 'Fading black' does appear in families - so it's almost certainly genetically produced, and this means that it will, one day, be properly identified and located. A good place to start looking for this (suggested) gene would be on ECA3 (chromosome 3) as this is where the genetic information for the production of eumelanin is located - in the Extension gene. It's possible that it may simply be another variation of the (dominant) E allele, as has been suggested for 'dominant black' (E+, or ED). If this does turn out to be the case, perhaps 'fading black' could be signified by Ef). 'Mushroom' .

This colour has been appearing in Shetland (and possibly Icelandic) ponies, predominantly in those which should be chestnut according to the breeding. Some have been genetically confirmed to be a definite chestnut base coat. The colour can vary from 'pale mushroom' (almost creamy) to 'dark mushroom' (similar to the Chocolate Flax). Coats often start off darkish with each coat change, but fade over time. Under the mane, where light doesn't hit, they tend not to fade. Mushroom ponies appear in lines where the cream gene is absent, and don't throw cream dilutes. Silver gene (which in normal circumstances doesn't show on chestnuts anyway) seems to have been eliminated as a possibility. Could this be a 'fading sooty'? Could it be a so-far-unknown gene acting on sooty? Whatever eventually turns out to be the case, at present both fading black and mushroom come into the category of the many puzzling, frustrating or irritating factors probably caused by one of the proverbial 'damned-if-I-know' genes .......

(Given a free rein, I would also include pangare and flaxen with the dilutants, as 'pattern dilutants' - i.e. not affecting the entire coat but clearly diluting parts of it in a readily-identifiable pattern.) Some of the best examples across the range of 'diluteds' come from the Highland ponies , the American Quarter Horses , Norwegian Fjord Horses , and the primitive wild varieties - which, as they evolved naturally, one shouldn't really call 'breeds'. The table below gives a visual description - not necessarily a genetic explanation - of a number of "names by which colours are known." Blue dun, grullo / grulla Smoky black: an interesting one! Now you see it, now you don't. Smoky black (in its true form) is homozygous black (inherited black from both parents) plus ONE dose of cream. In some, you see no visible effect. In others, the black is a little smoky.

If he fades out to 'brownish', you're likely to have either a heterozygous black inheritance (Ee) or homozygous black + agouti (EEAA or EEAa) combined with the sooty and cream genes. Smoky black horses are often 'dunny-coloured' as foals and therefore sometimes mistakenly registered as 'dark dun'. Don't confuse either the blue dun, the champagne black, or the smoky black with an iron or steel grey or with a blue roan! His colouring is not caused by the admixture of white hairs, but by the fact that each individual hair is dilute in colour. He's a variation of the blue dun, and is even-coloured blue-silver or creamy-silver generally with dark points, eel-stripe is quite marked, shoulder and zebra stripes are also often quite clear and distinct. Mane and tail in the silver dun (caused by the cream gene on blue dun) often have silver or white borders, or, in the silver blue dun (caused by the silver gene on blue dun), can be completely silvered-out, as can the lower legs.

This is one of the prettiest of the duns, and once seen, the colour is never forgotten. They can appear quite 'metallic' in the right lighting conditions. In the Fjord horse this colour is known as uls dun ("ulsblakk") and is definitely caused by dun + cream. Note: many people mistakenly call the silvered bay, silvered amber, silvered buckskin, etc. a 'silver dun'. For these colours, see later. In rough terms, a silver dun will have a pretty clear eel-stripe and be blue-silver in body colour, and the 'silvered bay' family will have pale manes and tails and be visually somewhat similar to the palominos and flaxen chestnuts. Don't confuse the silver dun with a grey. Of course, any horse may have the greying gene - so a foal born silver dun could develop into a grey dun when his adult coat comes through! Sometimes the only way of checking what you've got is by genetic testing. Smoky cream (sooty cream, silver cream, dusky cream, etc.

) (black + 2 cream) (black + cream + pearl) This is the result of the silver gene acting on a true black (not black-brown) coat. As the name suggests, the dapples (frequently present at birth, unlike the dappled greys whose dapples appear later) are very distinct. True silver dapple (as opposed to chocolate dapple) comes in a number of variations but should never appear chocolatey or pinkish. The fact that there are so many variations of "silver acting on black" is an indicator that the silver gene has more than one active allele. In Icelandic horses, all the silver-gene variations are designated by the term 'silver dapple', no matter what visual appearance they have - so, for example, you could have a 'blue dun silver dapple' Icelandic horse, whereas the rest of us would be likely to call it a 'silver blue dun'. Palomino Dunalino (chestnut + dun + cream) Golden body with blonde or white mane and tail (black skin). Also known as Isabella or Ysabell in certain areas.The gold of the body coat may be anything from deep red-gold to very pale cream.

To be correct for show purposes, it should be no more than "three shades lighter or darker than a newly-minted gold coin." 'Sooty palominos' are 'incorrect for show purposes'. There's nothing wrong with them, it's just that the 'Palomino people' don't like the sooty gene! (Note: if you breed sooty palominos together you can get some nice liver chestnuts.) The dunalino is very similar to the palomino, but shows a more dilute colour in the main body areas, with richer colour on the legs; dorsal stripe is noticeable, often extending along the centre of the mane and tail. Other dun patterns are there, but hard to spot! In Fjord horses this colour is known as 'yellow dun' or "gulblakk".

Apricot Champagne chestnut / gold champagne (chestnut + champagne) DNA tests reveal rare golden horse buried in 2,000-year-old Chinese tomb | Ancient Origins 13 December, 2015 - 14:58 aprilholloway DNA tests reveal rare golden horse buried in 2,000-year-old Chinese tomb (Read the article on one page) Archaeologists in China have carried out DNA tests on five horses found in a Western Han Dynasty tomb complex in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and discovered that one of the horses was a very rare golden color with white mane and tail. A number of ancient tapestries found in Asia, depict the almost mythical golden horse, but no one really knows the place of origin of the unique coloring. According to Xinhuanet , the finding was made by archaeologists with the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS), who carried out the analyses. "Though it's not the first archaeological discovery of a golden horse, such geno-variation is very, very rare," said Zhao Xin, lead researcher of the project [via Xinhuanet].

The horse remains were first uncovered in 2006 in a tomb complex dating to between 400 and 120 BC. The horses, along with other animal remains, had been buried as sacrifices for three different people, who are believed to have belonged to a nomadic community. The five horses varied in their coloration. Most of the horses were buried, along with other animals, in an animal vault. However, the golden horse was buried in the same chamber as its owner, along with pottery and vessels made from bronze, gold, silver, and stone. "Obviously, its conspicuous and unique appearance made it precious," Zhao Xin said. Horse burials were common in ancient China and often reflected the status of the tomb owner. Just last week, archaeologists uncovered an elaborate 2,500-year-old tomb in Henan province, possibly royal, alongside a burial pit with six chariots and 13 complete horse skeletons. Burial pit found last week containing 13 complete horse skeletons. Credit: People’s Daily Origins of the Golden Horse Horses with a golden color and silver-white mane and tail are referred to as palomino horses.

Their origin is not known with any certainty, but it is believed the coloring may have first emerged in the Middle East thousands of years ago, where it subsequently spread through trade and conquest to China and Europe. “It is popularly thought the palomino may have occurred as an adaptation camouflaging wild horses against the desert sands,” writes Danielle de la Mont in her article ‘ Horses of Gold: The Palomino in History and Folklore . “Indeed the Coast Guard in the United States used palominos to patrol beaches during World War II precisely because they blended seamlessly with the sandy environment, making them indistinguishable by enemy warships at sea.” The nomads of China’s Gobi Desert may have used the palominos for the same purpose some 2,000 years ago. Palomino horse coloring ranges from deep gold to a golden cream color with white mane and tail ( Bordesley Palomino Stud ) Mythology and Folklore Numerous ancient cultures, including the empires of Rome, Greece, Persia, Mongolia, China, and Japan, have folk stories and mythological tales revolving around a golden horse, and this is reflected in ancient tapestries and artworks.

“The immortal Xanthus, meaning 'golden' pulled the chariot of Achilles in Homer's Iliad and was gifted speech by the gods,” writes de la Mont. “Statuary has survived from Imperial China of horses featuring the palomino colouration, clad in tack coloured the distinctive blue reserved for royalty, suggesting the palomino was privileged to those of high social status.” Golden-colored horses can also be seen in the Bayeux tapestry, which depicts the famous Battle of Hastings, which took place on English soil in 1066. A golden-colored horse seen in the Bayeux tapestry (public domain) The rare and beautiful golden palominos were favored by Queen Isabella of Spain, who famously pawned her jewels to fund the explorations of Christopher Columbus. Queen Isabella is known to have kept hundreds of palominos in her personal stables and banned anyone but royalty or nobility to possess one of the golden horses. When the New World was ‘discovered’, Isabella sent a shipment of her prized palominos to her viceroy in Mexico. From there, they eventually spread to North America. Featured image: The Akhal-Teke, golden horse ( horsestock.com ) Unique Mtn.

Horse Colors - AZ Mountain Horses AZ Mountain Horses Contact Us Unusual Colors Found in Mountain Horses It is well known that Mountain Horses come in the trademark "chocolate" body color. But there are many unique colors in the breed! Mtn. Horses can actually be found in a rainbow of shades. Some colors, however, are very hard to find in any other breed, and it is those colors that we'll celebrate here. Chocolate or Silver Dapple We'll start our tour of fun colors with Silver Dapple, the trademark color of the Mtn. Horse breed. Silver Dapple is found not only in Rocky and Kentucky Mountain horses, but also in Miniature Horses, Shetland Ponies, Icelandics, some European draft horse breeds, and an occasional rare QH or TWH. However, it is the Mtn. Horse breeds that have really latched onto this color, and have "made it their own" so to speak! What is Silver Dapple, or "Chocolate" as it is called in Mtn. Horses? It's actually a dilute black, not a chestnut!

A rare gene acts upon what is basically, a black horse, and turns the body color a shade of brown, while lightening the mane even more so. Chocolate comes in a rainbow of shades, from a pale dappled beige that looks a lot like a Sooty Palomino, all the way to the richest bittersweet chocolate brown, so dark it looks nearly black. The mane and tail may be silvery white, reddish or golden flax, or even nearly black with only a few stray silver hairs. The endless combination of mane, tail, and body colors makes every Chocolate horse unique. The color often changes as the horse ages, with manes and tails turning darker as the horse gets older in most cases. Enjoy the beautiful shades of Chocolate shown here! Above: Amazing example of an extremely dark chocolate with white mane and tail. This color is very difficult to get, and even harder to keep, as the white mane and tail tends to darken with age on many Chocolate horses. Blue Boy's Dakota, photo courtesy of Yvonne Thompson. A wonderful example of lighter Silver Dapple color. "Smooth as Silk" owned by Fair Chance Stables, registered RM and KM. Photo by Jane Gean.

Red Chocolate The second "best known" Chocolate color in Mtn. Horses is "Red Chocolate". Remember, Silver Dapple turns black body colors into dark brown, and lightens the mane and tail even more. It does not change red based body colors at all. because it only changes parts of the horse that would normally be black. So, a bay's black legs become dark brown, and the mane and tail may be any shade that would normally be seen on a Chocolate horse - flaxen, silver, even pure white! Above: Example of an extremely light red chocolate color. "April Sunshine" is owned by Overlook Stables and is for sale. Contact Jane Gean for more information at: dreamj@alltell.net Above and below: Two examples of Red Chocolate. Filly "Hosanna" shown above, and stallion "Crimson Timson" below. Both of these horses may be mistaken for flaxen-maned chestnut at first glance, but note the dark legs. Photos courtesy of Tara Nichol, Honyesuckle Hill Mtn. Horses.

Below: The light red chocolates above may be mistaken for chestnuts at first glace, but dark red chocolate below could pass for a bay with "highlights" in the mane and tail. "Empress" also displays fantastic stocky Mtn. Horse build in addition to her lovely color. Photo provided by Sharon Stokesbary, Above: Fearless, a World Champion stallion at stud at Overlook Stables. This is dark red chocolate with a flaxen mane and tail. Photo courtesy of Jane Gean. Silver Buckskin Now that you see that the Silver Dapple gene can change a bay, let's consider buckskins. A buckskin is a bay horse, that has had its red body color changed to a light tan by the cream gene, the same "modifier" that also turns a chestnut into a palomino. However, a buckskin has black areas on its body. Just as the black areas on a bay are changed on a Red Chocolate, the Mtn. Horse with the "Silver Buckskin" color will have dark brown socks, and the mane and tail will show some lighter color.

A darker Silver Buckskin will pretty much look like a regular buckskin, but might have a few flaxen highlights on a dark mane, causing the horse to look as if someone decided to add a few highlights to the mane and tail. The most extreme Silver Buckskins can sport a pure white mane and tail, which makes the horse look like a palomino with dark socks! Above: Choco Dock Jr, a popular RMHA stallion. His dark Silver Buckskin color has a brownish cast, because the "sooty" black hairs of a regular buckskin have been lightened to dark brown, and he has flaxen highlights in his mane and tail. Photo courtesy of Jane Gean. Coppertone, a Silver Buckskin bred by Sandy McCart. Like many Mtn. Horses that carrry Silver Dapple along with Cream, he has amber colored eyes and could probably be mistaken for a Champagne.

Chocolate Roan Above: Chocolate Roan, photo courtesy of Christi Volz, Volz's Mountain Horses Osgood, IN 47037, 812-689-7130 email: gaitedrockies@yahoo.com It's always exciting when a Mtn. Horse breeder produces a Chocolate Roan. The Roan gene is found in all the Mtn. Horse registries, and "regular" blue and red roans are present. In Mtn. Horses, it is also possible to combine the Silver Dapple color with roan. A Chocolate Roan is quite striking. They may appear to have almost a purple or lilac tint to their bodies. Sometimes "Red Chocolate Roans" appear, which creates a bay roan that may have a lighter mixed flaxen mane and tail. Roans in Mtn. Horses are very sought after. Above and below: A chocolate roan Mtn. Horse. Roan lightened the dark brown body, but the Silver Dapple gene caused the mane and tail to stay a light blonde flaxen color. Photos courtesy of Jane Gean.

Classic's Shogun - Absolutely breathtaking Red Chocolate Roan stallion standing at Classic Farms. No matter the color, this is one beautiful horse! AI is available for folks living out west. Visit their website for more info: Silver Grulla By now, you are probably getting an idea of how this works - any color that would normally be black is changed somewhat in Mtn. Horses if the Chocolate gene is at work. So what happens when a rare Grulla also inherits the Silver gene? There are very few of these in existence, so we don't have very many examples, but the mane and tail are lightened, and the body color may also be altered somewhat. Above: Absolutely stunning example of Silver Grulla. These photos were saved from an Agdirect ad posted a long time ago, and I'm afraid I don't have information on this filly any more. If this is your horse, please contact me if you would like me to remove these photos, and especially contact me if you have updated photos that you'd like to share of her now! Other Colors There are plenty of other very fun colors in Mtn. Horses. These colors are also seen in other horse breeds. Some lesser known Mtn.

Horse colors include Red Dun (also called Apricot Dun), Grulla, and Champagne! Above: Classic Champagne grade Rocky mare, traces back to Dock. Located in Tucson, AZ. Photos by Amanda Butler.

Question: What name is given to a golden horse with a white mane and tail?
Answer: PALOMINO