SARAH TREGAY

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.