Horse colors

Horses have many possible coat colors. The mane and mane and tail colors which can be the same, or different, from the color of the coat. That coat can be solid, patched, or spotted in various ways, and even a solid color horse often has markings of white on the face and legs. The genetics of horse colors is a fascinating subject in and of itself, but also is of practical use to the horse breeder. The breed standard for certain pure bred horses disqualifies particular patterns and colors, and some breeds, such as the Paint horse, and the Apaloosa, on the other hand, are known primarily for the pattern of their coats. Some of the genes that influence coat color also influence eye and skin color, and the color of hoofs. The genetics of color do not simply specify the pigment of horse hair, but also its distribution. For example, whether a color is limited to the tip of a hair or evenly distributed over the entire hair is one trait that is inherited as a separate factor than the color itself.

Solid colors

Dilution genes

Buckskin

Dilution of a bay horse results in buckskin coloration. This horse will have at least one copy of the dominant agouti gene, AG, so that black pigment on the coat is relegated to the mane, tail and points.

Smoky black

Dilution of a black horse results in smoky black coloration. Such a horse, like all black horses, will be doubly recessive for the agouti allele (ag, ag) and black pigment will be evenly spread along each hair.

Palomino

A chestnut horse (also caled sorrel) with a single dilute gene yield a palomino horse.

Cremello

This horse has a cream-colored coat that can range from a rather deep cream to near white. It is a doubly dilute form of a chestnut horse, and will have pink skin and blue eyes.

Perlino

Another double dilute, the perlino XXX