Search results
A sooty or smutty [1] horse coat color is characterized by black or darker hairs mixed into a horse's coat, typically concentrated along the topline of the horse and less prevalent on the underparts. The effect is especially pronounced on buckskins and palominos.
- Brindle
- Cremello
- Chimera
- Gold Champagne
- Silver Buckskin
- Metallic Sheen
- Silver Dapple Pinto
- Buckskin Pinto
- Sabino
- Red Rabicano
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Brindle is a type of chimera coat pattern. While it’s relatively common in dogs and cows, brindle is by far the rarest coat color in horses. Brindle stripes can show up on any base color in the form of light or dark hairs. Because this pattern is a result of two embryos fusing, the hairs making up the stripes can be a different texture to other bod...
The cremello is a unique horse color that features cream hairs, blue eyes, and pink skin. Some people refer to cremello horses as white or albino, although their genetics differ from these. A cremello horse has a chestnut base color and two dilution/cream genes that lighten all hairs to nearly white. This color is typical in the Akhal-Teke, Lusitan...
The chimera is possibly the most eccentric horse color among all. It is created when a rare and bizarre DNA error causes two non-identical twins to fuse in the womb. The result is a horse with two sets of DNA that will show both coat colors at birth. Chimera horses can display a combination of any two horse colors. Their pattern will depend on how ...
Champagne horses have a black base color that is modified by the rare champagne gene. These horses will have blue eyes at birth that change to hazel as they grow older. The champagne gene also causes pinkish skin with freckles and golden or brown hairs. Gold champagne is a truly fabulous version of the classic champagne and often has a metallic shi...
The silver buckskin is a rare horse color with dark points and a silver coat. This is the result of the rare silver gene that lightens dark hairs on the horse’s body, producing a silver coat. While the term is used to describe a variety of horse colors, a true silver buckskin must carry the silver gene. This gene only affects black hair pigment and...
While not strictly a horse color, a metallic sheen is displayed by certain horse breeds related to the Akhal-Teke. This rare trait puts a unique spin on the horse’s coat, making it shine like molten metal. A metallic sheen was originally characteristic of the Akhal-Teke breed of Turkmenistan. These horses have been around for at least 3,000 years a...
Silver dapple horses are already beautiful, but silver dapple pintos are even more special! This unique horse color combines the fabulous silver dapple coat with pinto coloration. Silver dapple pintos are quite rare and most often occur in the Gypsy Vanner breed. The color was also noted among American Miniature Horses. Horses with this coloration ...
Like silver dapple pintos, buckskin pintos boast a combination of their base coat color and pinto spotting pattern. Buckskin horses have one dilution gene that fades their original bay color into various shades of cream and gold. Meanwhile, their black points (mane, tail, and legs) remain intact. Buckskin pintos are uncommon compared to other pinto...
Often mistaken for roan or rabicano, the sabino is in fact a pinto spotting pattern. Most sabino horses have partially or fully white legs with belly spots of varying sizes. The white spotting often extends to the face and other body parts, and sabinos can even be completely white. This unique spotting pattern can appear on any base color. A rare a...
A red rabicano horse has a chestnut base color and sparse roaning typically limited to the underbelly, flanks, tail, legs, and head. While true roans have white hairs mixed with colored hairs throughout the body, rabicanos only show this trait in part of the body. Rabicano horses also don’t have darker heads and legs compared to the rest of the bod...
Learn about the 15 most unique and rarest horse coat colors, including silver buckskin, cremello, and brindle. See pictures and facts about these stunning horses and their genetic backgrounds.
Mar 24, 2023 · Learn about the history, genetics, and shades of buckskin horse color, a tannish golden coat with black points. Find out which breeds can have buckskins and how to test for the cream gene.
Apr 8, 2024 · Learn about buckskin horses, a color type with a golden-tan coat and dark mane, tail, and legs. Find out the variations, breeds, characteristics, and history of buckskin horses, including sooty buckskin.
- The ABCs of Color. Actually, the above subhead should read “The A’s & B’s of Color.” We’ve distilled the standard color classifications into two categories for ease of visual identification: horses with black points (mane, tail, ear rims and lower legs–such as you see on a bay); and those with non-black points (think chestnut).
- Patterns of White. Even though you may think of gray as a horse color, it’s actually considered to be a pattern of white hairs. Pinto/paint, roan, and Appaloosa are considered to be patterns characterized by white patches.
- Glossary. Allele: Either of a pair of genes located at the same position on both members of a pair of chromosomes, conveying characteristics that are inherited.
- Sorrel Versus Chestnut. So…is your chestnut really a sorrel? Or is that sorrel really a chestnut? It depends–and it’s subjective. Different breeds use the two terms to describe different genetic variations or shades of color.
Buckskin is a coat color of gold or tan with a black tail, mane, and lower legs. Learn about the cream dilution gene, the sooty variation, and the buckskin horse breeds and associations.
Dec 27, 2022 · Learn about the buckskin horse, a color phenomenon that spans across various breeds, with distinctive coat shades and temperament. Discover the history, genetics, and care of these versatile and resilient equines.
