Colorsandmarkings - Horse
Colorsandmarkings - Horse
Colorsandmarkings - Horse
GUIDE
I. Colors
Colors in the horse industry are extremely important for identification, and for breeding
purposes. Color is inherited by both the sire and dam. Some breed associations believe that color
has an impact on the performance and personality of the horse. Every young horse lover is first
attracted to a horse by its color, and some owners let the color influence their decision when
purchasing or looking to purchase a horse.
It is essential for a good horseman or horsewomen to have continuous knowledge of
horse colors, markings and patterns. There are five basic horse coat colors: brown, black, bay,
chestnut and white. Some variations of these colors are dun, gray, palomino, pinto/paint and
roan. However, there are many other coat colors that will be discussed.
Black Skin, mane, tail and body hair are all black. Only
white markings on the face and legs are allowed.
www.visiteasterseals.org
Brown Dark skin with black and dark brown hair mixed;
mane and tail are black.
www.sureawinner.com
Chestnut Brown hair with reddish brown to golden brown
points on the hair. The mane and tail must be close
to the coat color.
www.zipposrv.com
Gray Born a solid dark color, as the horse gets older more
white hairs appear and as the horse ages it can
become solid white. Can be flea-bitten or dappled.
parkerfarms.com
Sorrel The body color is red or copper red; the mane and
tail can either be the same color as the body or
flaxen.
www.vgl.ucdavis.edu
Albino This color has no pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. This color doesn’t exist because
there is a lethal gene involved in
this color.
Dark The skin is dark and the coat is an uneven mixture
Gray of black/brown-black hairs. The percentage of white
hairs increases with age. www.elpre.com
II. PATTERNS
There are also many different patterns that can be identified on a horse. These patterns may be
favored (depending on the owner) when looking to buy a flashy partner. Even though all horses
are amazing to look at and appreciate, some think these patterns bring out different, unique
personalities. Breeders enjoy seeing what color will come out from different sires and dams.
Here are the most common patterns for you to value.
Roan- Most roans are a combination of bay (#3, . 1 2
formerly known as strawberry), chestnut (red roan
#2), or black (blue roan#1) with white hairs
intermingled. Some patches on the body maybe
be darker than others, they are born and pass
away the same color. The determining factor of
whether a horse is light roan or dark roan is based
on how much white hair is present in comparison
to the colored hair.
www.blueroans.com
www.versatilehorses.com
3
III. MARKINGS
Stripe A long narrow white marking from the forehead to the muzzle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_markings
Bald-Face White appears over most of the flat surface of the face, which can
LEGS
Coronet A white strip that covers the cornet bans
Pastern White that extends from the cornet to (and including) the pastern
Half-Pastern White hairs that extend from the coronet to (not including) the pastern
Ankle White that extends from the cornet to (and including) the fetlock.
Full Stocking White starting from the coronet to (and including) the knee/hock.
Half Stocking White starting at the coronet and extending to the middle of the cannon
Outside Heel White patch of hairs on the outside heel of the horse.
Inside Heel- White patch of hairs on the inside heel of the horse.
BODY
Chestnuts A callous area on the inside of the horse's leg with a subtle
pattern, but this pattern is unique to each horse. All horses have chestnuts.
Dorsal Stripe A dark line running from the poll to the dock of the tail.
www.aaanativearts.com
ALTERATIONS
Dark The horse has a predominance of black hair/deep color, with little yellow
visible.
Golden Occurs when the light strikes certain shades of dun, chestnut and bay to
make them seen extremely light. (An example is having the sun make your hair lighter in the
summer)
Pure Clear coat and has depth of color.
Ratty Dull, dirty tones coat.
Smokey Having a bluish tinge to the coloration of the coat.
Striped Having back stripes or bars on the legs.
Blue-Eye The eyes of a horse should be rich brown with a black pupil. However
when the eye ball is clear (a shade between white and blue) it is termed glass-eyed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_markings
Mealy Mouthed - A horse whose color is faded around the mouth; this mostly
occurs in bays and brown. It is also known as ‘mulish’ because mules can also obtain this
feature.
TEST YOURSELF
I. COLORS
Match the following colors to the picture. Two choices on the left will not be used.
A. B. C.
__Bay
__Palomino
__Buckskin
__Chestnut/Sorrel
__Black
__Light bay
D. E. F.
___Dark Bay a. The skin, mane, tail and body hair are all black, only white