SARAH TREGAY

Chestnut is a reddish, orangish, brownish coat with a mane and tail in the same family. Chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most common horse coat colors, seen in almost every breed.

A member of the chestnut family, a liver chestnut horse is simply a dark chestnut. Hairs will be redish/brownish throughout without black points. Manes and tails may be flaxen or chestnut in color.

A horse with black skin but white or mixed dark and white hairs. Gray horses can be born any color, and lighten as they age. A dapple gray coat has lighter rings of grey hairs, called dapples, scattered throughout.

Brown horses often resemble bays, but they have a specific genetic makeup. Seal browns are the expression of the Agouti gene on a black base coat. A seal brown will have lighter tones on the muzzle and flank.

True black horses fall into two types: a fading black and a non-fading black or blue-black. A fading black will reveal brownish tones with time spent in the sun. Both types will have black hairs near around the muzzle, whereas a brown horse will have lighter hairs here.

The body color of a bay horse will be a shade of brown, from golden hues to deep red, or as dark as chocolate. A bay will have black points, including the mane, tail, lower legs, and tips of the ears.

A horse with a black base color and the dun gene. Coat is solid "mouse-colored" gray or silver (can also be almost brownish-gray) with black or dark gray primitive markings.

Similar to a cremello, a perlino is genetically a bay base coat with two dilute genes. Eyes are blue. Mane, tail and points are not black, but are usually darker than the body coat, generally a reddish or rust color, not to be confused with a red dun.

A palomino will have a gold coat and white or flaxen mane and tail. The palomino color is created by a dilution gene on a chestnut coat.

This frame overo has a black base color. A Frame Overo horse will have patches of white hair “framed” by colored hair. The patches have a jagged outline and tend to be horizontally displayed on the barrel and neck and usually will not cross the topline. The skin is pink beneath the white patches and dark beneath the colored areas. Usually, the legs are colored, but when the legs have white markings, these are usually produced by a different white pattern gene. White on the face is common. The mane and tail are often colored.

This tobiano has a buckskin base color. A tobiano has white patches with rounded, smooth edges over the topline and extend downward, usually leaving the head, chest, and sides colored. The legs are usually white below the knees and hocks. Typically the head is colored but can also have the common white markings and the mane and tail are often of two toned.

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The leopard gene complex can create dark spots of varying sizes over a white body.

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This brindle has a grulla base color. A brindle pattern appears as vertical stripes along the neck, back, hindquarters, and upper legs. A brindle can have a base coat color of any color. Recorded examples have been bay, chestnut, palomino, and dun. Earliest documented cases were said to have red dun or grulla (pictured) as a base coat. The stripes can be lighter or darker than the base coat.

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