Monday, November 19, 2012
Black horses
Black horses have pure black coats with no signs of brown or any other color. Many horse-people mistake dark bays or liver chestnuts for black. If you can see any other color (with the exception of white markings) on the horse's coat in the winter, he is not a true black. The reason I say "in the winter" is because the sun tends to lighten a dark horse's coat in the summer, and the exception is when the hair has been sun-burnt.
Cremellos and Perlinos
Cremellos and Perlinos are often called Whites or Albinos which is incorrect. There are no albino horses, there are however White horses, to learn more about them see the page on White Horses.
Cremellos and Perlinos are "double diluted" which means they have two copies of the creme gene instead of one like a Palomino or Buckskin. In other words a Palomino is a "chestnut" with one creme gene and a Cremello is a "chestnut" with two creme genes. A Buckskin is a "bay" with one creme gene and a Perlino is a "bay" with two creme genes.
Cremellos and Perlinos have pink skin and blue eyes. Their hair coats are not white but are of a light creme color. Some can be so light they appear to be white but if you compare them to a true white horse you will see that they are actually creme.
Cremellos will have white manes and tails while Perlinos will have darker points, as a Buckskin would, but on a Perlino the points are orangish. To learn more about them you can visit the website of the Cremello & Perlino Educational Association.
Chestnut
Chestnut, (also known as "sorrel"), is reddish brown. The points (mane, tail, legs and ears) are the same color as the horse's body (other than white markings). Chestnuts range from light yellowish brown to a golden-reddish or dark liver color. All chestnuts have shades of red in their coats.
Grullo or Grulla
Grullo - pronounced (grew-yo)
Grulla - pronounced (grew-ya)
Either of the terms are correct in describing the color. AQHA recognizes the color as grullo. The color is the diluted form of black with dun factor. In other words the black color is modified by the dun gene. "Grulla" is the Spanish word for a gray crane which is a slate-gray colored bird.
You may find grullo or grulla definitions in the rule books of different registries under different definitions but for this I will include the AQHA definition:
Body color smoky or mouse colored (not a mixture of black and white hairs, but each individual hair is mouse colored) Usually has a dorsal stripe, shoulder striping or shadowing and black leg barring on lower legs.
Within this definition there are variations of the color often refered to as slate grulla, silver grulla, olive grulla, black dun or wolf dun. The grullo color in the quarter horse is very rare and only about 0.7% of those registered in the quarter horse breed each year are grullo.
One determining factor of the grulla is the primitve markings which can be seen on all duns to some varying extents.
Palomino horses
Palomino horses have gold-colored coat with a white or light cream colored mane and tail. The Palomino's coat can range from a light off-white shade to a deep shade of gold.
"white" horses
There are a couple different types of "white" horses. Dominant Whites are very rare and must have a white parent. They have pink skin, usually hazel or brown eyes and white hair. There are also Sabino Whites which can pop up in any breed that has the Sabino gene, this includes Arabs, Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Paints, Tennessee Walkers, Saddlebreds, and more. A Sabino White is what we call a maximal pinto, just imagine that the white markings on the horse are so big they cover the entire horse. Sabino Whites also have white hair, sometimes with a few dark hairs on the poll or ears, pink skin and dark eyes.
There are also other horses that are mistaken for white, some are greys that have turned white, but they will have dark skin and eyes and are not true white horses. The others are cremellos and perlinos
Champagne colored horses
Champagne colored horses are born with bright pink skin which remains pink their entire life. What really distinguishes the champagne color from other colors is that champagne foals are born with bright blue eyes. Their eyes will usually change color as they age, but this takes a long time - whereas in other colors, the color of the eye changes more rapidly. The eye color will usually change from light blue to a hazel/green color.
Champagne colored foals are born with a darker coat than their future adult coat will be, and all Champagne horses have at least 1 Champagne pare
Buckskin horses
Buckskin horses are a light-to-dark sandy yellow or tan color with all black points. Buckskins are very similar to duns, however, buckskins do not have a dorsal stripe or other "primitive" markings that are shown in the dun color.
Roan horses
Roan horses have otherwise solid colored coats, but with white hairs interspersed. The white hairs are not actual spots, but single white hairs mixed with the darker coat color. You'll find descriptions and pictures of some common roan colors below.
The Roan Gene can be applied to any color of horse. The most common are Red Roans, Bay Roans and Blue Roans. There are also Palomino Roans, Red Dun Roans, Dun Roans, Buckskin Roans, etc. The Roan gene adds white hairs into the body of the horse. The legs and head are not affected and will remain darker then the body. The mane and tail are usually not affected, but some may have some white hairs mixed in.
Dun horses
Dun horses have a sandy/yellow to reddish/brown coat. Their legs are usually darker than their body and sometimes have faint "zebra" stripes on them. Dun horses always have a "dorsal" stripe, which is a dark stripe down the middle of their back. Sometimes the dorsal stripe continues down the horse's dock and tail, and through the mane. Many dun colored horses also have face masking, which makes the horse's nose and sometimes the rest of the face a darker color than the horse's body.
Bay horses
Bay horses run from light reddish or tan shades to dark brown and mahogany/auburn shades. Bay horses always have black points (legs, muzzle, mane and tail, and the tips of their ears are black). Many bay horses have black legs that are covered by white markings.
GAIT
GAIT - The different speeds a horse can travel. Every horse has 4 natural "gaits", the (1) walk (2) trot (3) canter (4) gallop.
POINTS
POINTS - This word is used when describing the color of a horse. The "points" of a horse are his mane, tail, lower legs and the tips of his ears.
SOUND
SOUND - A "sound horse" does not have any injuries that interfere with his performance and/or health.
CONFORMATION
CONFORMATION - The shape of a horse's body. A horse with good conformation is stronger and more likely to stay sound than one with weak conformation.
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