The Basic Colors
The names of horse colors may vary from region to region, which creates a great deal of confusion for the novice equestrian who's still trying to figure out the equine terminology. There are color breed registries in which horses of a specific color, such as a palomino, can be registered. To make matters even more confusing, some breeds not technically considered as a color breed are nonetheless very color specific. Friesians, for instance, are always black. The following are the basic coat colors of the horse:
Bay
Black
Brown
Chestnut
Gray
Bay is the most common horse color and usually the most favored among sport and performance horses. The body is some shade of brown or reddish brown with black points, meaning that the mane, tail, and legs up to the knee area are black. Bays are easy to distinguish from chestnuts because the distinctive black points are always present. Bay is actually a genetically modified form of the color black. Bay occurs in many horse breeds, but only one breed so far — the Cleveland Bay — has been named for this specific color.
True blacks are uncommon, although they are not rare. Most horses that look black are actually dark brown. A true black cannot have any red or brown hairs mixed in the coat, not even on the muzzle. Black tends to fade when exposed to sunlight, so black show horses are generally kept stabled or blanketed to prevent a sun-bleached coat.
A brown horse, on the other hand, is brown all over, on its body, mane, and tail. Some browns are so dark that they are often mistaken for black; however, you can tell the difference by inspecting for brown hairs on the flanks and around the muzzle and eyes. Even a sun-bleached black will still have black hairs in these areas. A really dark brown horse that looks black or that has black hairs mixed in with the brown is sometimes called seal brown or, depending on the region, black and tan.
Chestnuts are a reddish color all over, including the mane and tail. Many chestnut horses have lovely white markings on the face and legs, or they may simply be red all over. They never have black points, like the bays.
Chestnut shades range from dark liver chestnut to the lighter sorrel. The liver chestnut is a deep brown color that can be found all over throughout the mane and tail or just the coat. To some, “sorrel” is just another name for a chestnut horse. Others make the distinction that the sorrel is a lighter shade of chestnut on the body and legs with a lighter or flaxen-colored mane and tail.
Most white horses are correctly called “grays” in the horse world. The shades of gray range from almost pure white, such as the lovely Lipizzaner, to a deep blue-gray base coat with dappling. Gray horses are born dark and gradually whiten with each shedding as they get older. The degree to which the coat whitens depends upon the genetics. A gray horse that has whitened all the way can be distinguished from a true white horse by its dark skin underneath, most noticeable around the muzzle and eyes.
What is a dappled gray?
Dappling is a color pattern common in gray horses. It refers to the mottled gray or lighter rings of spotting or blotches that occur over a darker background coat color. A “flea-bitten” gray is a similar color pattern, except in reverse and with smaller, colored spots — the base color speckles or flecks the gray coat.
True white is a rare color in the horse world and requires some special genetics. True white horses inherit a gene called “dominant white.” Not surprisingly, they are called “dominant white horses.” They are not albinos, as some mistakenly believe. Foals that inherit albinism rarely survive. Dominant whites have pink skin and colored eyes, usually blue or brown. Unlike grays, they are born white and stay that way. Interestingly, a horse can inherit only one dominant white gene and survive. Double dominant white genes are lethal.
