Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colors and distinctive markings

Horse markings

Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...

. A specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them.

While most horses remain the same color throughout life, a few, over the course of several years, will develop a different coat color from that with which they were born. Most white markings

Horse markings

Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...

 are present at birth, and the underlying skin color of a horse does not change, absent disease.

The basic outline of equine coat color genetics

Equine coat color genetics

Equine coat color genetics determine a horse's coat color. There are many different coat colors possible, but all colors are produced by the action of only a few different genes. The simplest genetic default color of all domesticated horses can be described as either "red" or "non-red", depending...

 has largely been resolved, and DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 tests to determine the likelihood that a horse will have offspring of a given color have been developed for some colors. Discussion, research, and even controversy continues about some of the details, particularly those surrounding spotting patterns, color sub-shades such as "sooty" or "flaxen," and markings

Horse markings

Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...

.

Basic coat colors

Genetically

Equine coat color genetics

Equine coat color genetics determine a horse's coat color. There are many different coat colors possible, but all colors are produced by the action of only a few different genes. The simplest genetic default color of all domesticated horses can be described as either "red" or "non-red", depending...

, all horses start out as either chestnut

Chestnut (coat)

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...

, called "red" by geneticists, represented by the absence of the extension gene ("e"); or black based on the presence of the extension gene ("E"). Therefore, red ("ee") and black ("EE" or "Ee") are the two base colors. The Bay color is expressed when the common genetic modifier, the Agouti

Agouti gene

The Agouti gene is responsible for determining whether a mammal's coat is banded or of a solid color . The chief product of the Agouti gene is Agouti signalling peptide , but there are a number of alternative splice products....

 gene works on the Black. The vast range of all other coat colors are created by additional genes action upon one of these three coat colors.

Statistically, the most commonly seen horse color phenotypes are identified by the following terms:

• Bay: Body color ranges from a light reddish-brown to very dark brown with "black points." (Points refer to the mane, tail, and lower legs). The main color variations are:
  • Dark bay: very dark red or brown hair, difficult to distinguish from seal brown
    Seal brown (horse)
    Seal brown is a hair coat color of horses characterized by a near-black body color; with black points, the mane, tail and legs; but also reddish or tan areas around the eyes, muzzle, behind the elbow and in front of the stifle...
    
    . Sometimes also called "black bay," "mahogany bay," or "brown."
  • Blood bay: bright red hair; often considered simply "bay."
  • Brown
    Seal brown (horse)
    Seal brown is a hair coat color of horses characterized by a near-black body color; with black points, the mane, tail and legs; but also reddish or tan areas around the eyes, muzzle, behind the elbow and in front of the stifle...
    
    : The word "brown" is used by some breed registries
    Breed registry
    A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...
    
     to describe dark bays. There is a distinct allele
    Allele
    An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus . "Allel" is an abbreviation of allelomorph. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation...
    
     that darkens a bay coat to seal brown
    Seal brown (horse)
    Seal brown is a hair coat color of horses characterized by a near-black body color; with black points, the mane, tail and legs; but also reddish or tan areas around the eyes, muzzle, behind the elbow and in front of the stifle...
    
     (At), but it is not the cause of all forms of dark bay. Informally, "brown" is applied to many distinct coat colors. Most often, horses described by casual observers as "brown" are actually bay or chestnut. In the absence of DNA testing, chestnut and bay can be distinguished from each other by looking at the mane, tail and legs for the presence of black points.
• Chestnut
  Chestnut (coat)
  Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
  
  : A reddish body color with no black. Mane and tail are the same shade or lighter than the body coat. The main color variations are:
  • Liver
    Liver (color)
    Liver is a term used to describe certain types of dark brown color in dogs and horses.In dogs, it is a dark brown shade.In horses, "liver chestnut" is a term used to describe a chocolate-colored chestnut horse. A liver chestnut is the same genetically as a regular chestnut, but the shade is a dark...
    
     chestnut: very dark brown coat. Sometimes a liver chestnut is also simply called "brown."
  • Sorrel
    Sorrel (horse)
    Sorrel is an alternative word for one of the most common equine coat colors in horses. While the term is usually used to refer to a copper-red shade of chestnut, in some places it is used generically in place of "chestnut" to refer to any reddish horse with a same-color or lighter mane and tail,...
    
    : Reddish-tan to red coat, about the color of a new penny. The most common shade of chestnut.
  • Blond or light chestnut: seldom-used term for lighter tan coat with pale mane and tail that is not quite a dun.

• Gray
  Gray (horse)
  Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
  
  : A horse with black skin but white or mixed dark and white hairs. Gray horses can be born any color, and lighten as they age. Most will eventually gray out to either a complete white or a "fleabitten" hair coat. Most "white" horses are actually grays with a fully white hair coat. A gray horse is distinguished from a white horse by dark skin, particularly noticeable around the eyes, muzzle, flanks, and other areas of thin or no hair. Variations of gray that a horse may exhibit over its lifetime include:
  • Salt and Pepper or "steel" gray
    Gray (horse)
    Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
    
    : Usually a younger horse, an animal with white and dark hairs evenly intermixed over most of the body.
  • Dapple gray
    Gray (horse)
    Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
    
    : a dark-colored horse with lighter rings of graying hairs, called dapples, scattered throughout.
  • Fleabitten gray
    Gray (horse)
    Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
    
    : an otherwise fully white-haired horse that develops red hairs flecked throughout the coat.
  • Rose gray
    Gray (horse)
    Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
    
    : a gray horse with a reddish or pinkish tinge to its coat. This color occurs with a horse born bay or chestnut while the young horse is "graying out."

Other coat colors

• Black
  Black (horse)
  Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
  
  : Black is relatively uncommon, though not "rare." There are two types of black, fading black and non-fading black. Most black horses will fade to a brownish color if the horse is exposed to sunlight on a regular basis. Non-fading black is a blue-black shade that does not fade in the sun. Genetically, the two cannot yet be differentiated, and some claim the difference occurs due to management rather than genetics, though this claim is hotly disputed. Most black foals are usually born a mousy grey or dun color. As their foal coat begins to shed out, their black color will show through, though in some breeds black foals are born jet black. For a horse to be considered black, it must be completely black except for white markings. A sun-bleached black horse is still black, even though it may appear to be a dark bay or brown. A visible difference between a true black and a dark chestnut or bay is seen in the fine hairs around the eyes and muzzle; on a true black these hairs are black, even if the horse is sun-bleached, on other colors, they will be lighter.
• Brindle - One of the rarest colors in horses, possibly linked to chimerism. Characteristics are any color with "zebra-like" stripes, but most common is a brown horse with faint yellowish markings.

• Buckskin
  Buckskin (color)
  Buckskin is a hair coat color of horses; referring to a color that resembles certain shades of tanned deerskin. Similar colors in some breeds of dogs are also called buckskin. The horse has a tan or gold colored coat with black points . Buckskin occurs as a result of the cream dilution gene acting...
  
  - A bay horse with one copy of the cream gene
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  , a dilution gene
  Dilution gene
  Dilution gene is a popular term for any one of a number of genes that act to create a lighter coat color in living creatures. There are many examples of such genes:-General:...
  
   that 'dilutes' or fades the coat color to a yellow, cream, or gold while keeping the black points (mane, tail, legs).
• Champagne
  Champagne gene
  The champagne gene is a simple dominant allele responsible for a number of rare horse coat colors. The most distinctive traits of horses with the champagne gene are the hazel eyes and pinkish, freckled skin, which are bright blue and bright pink at birth, respectively...
  
  : Produced by a different dilution gene
  Dilution gene
  Dilution gene is a popular term for any one of a number of genes that act to create a lighter coat color in living creatures. There are many examples of such genes:-General:...
  
   than the cream gene
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  . It lightens both skin and hair, but creates a metallic gold coat color with mottled skin and light colored eyes. Champagne horses are often confused with palomino, cremello, dun, or buckskins.
• Cream dilution
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  , an incomplete dominant
  Dominance relationship
  Dominance in genetics is a relationship between two variant forms of a single gene, in which one allele masks the effect of the other in influencing some trait. In the simplest case, if a gene exists in two allelic forms , three combinations of alleles are possible: AA, AB, and BB...
  
   gene that produces a partially diluted coat color with one copy of the allele
  Allele
  An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus . "Allel" is an abbreviation of allelomorph. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation...
  
   and a full dilution with two copies. Colors produced include Palomino, Buckskin, Perlino, Cremello and Smoky Cream or Smoky black.
• Cremello
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
   - A horse with a chestnut base coat and two cream gene
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  s that wash out almost all color until the horse is a pale cream or light tan color. Often called "white," they are not truly white
  White (horse)
  White horses are born white and stay white throughout their life. White horses may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant white genes, are rare...
  
   horses, and they do not carry the white (W) gene. A cremello usually has blue eyes.
• Dun
  Dun gene
  The dun gene is a dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the coat color of a horse. The dun gene has the ability to affect the appearance of all black, bay, or chestnut -based horses to some degree by lightening the base body coat and suppressing the underlying base color to the...
  
  : Yellowish or tan coat with primitive markings
  Primitive markings
  Primitive markings among domestic horses are a group of hair coat markings and qualities associated with primitive breeds, and the dun coat color family in particular. All dun horses possess at least the dorsal stripe but the presence of the other primitive markings varies...
  
  , sometimes called "dun factors:" a darker-colored mane and tail, a dorsal stripe along the back and occasionally faint horizontal zebra stripings on the upper legs and a possible transverse stripe across the withers. There are several variations of dun:
  • Grullo
    Grullo
    Grullo is a color of horses in the dun family, characterized by tan-gray or mouse-colored hairs on the body, often with shoulder and dorsal stripes and black barring on the lower legs. In this coloration each individual hair is mouse-colored, unlike a roan which is composed of a mixture of dark and...
    
    , Grulla, or Blue Dun: A horse with a black base color and the dun gene. Coat is solid "mouse-colored" gray or silver with black or dark gray primitive markings.
  • Red dun: A chestnut base coat with dun factors. Coat is usually pale yellow or tan with chestnut (red) primitive markings.
  • "Bay dun" or "Zebra dun" are terms sometimes used to describe the classic dun color of yellow or tan with black primitive markings, used when necessary to distinguish it from red duns or grullos.
  • "Buckskin dun" or "Yellow dun" describes a dun that also carries the cream gene
    Cream gene
    The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
    
     dilution and has a coat of pale gold with black mane, tail, legs and primitive markings.

• Leopard
  Leopard complex
  The leopard complex is a group of genetically-related coat patterns in horses. These patterns range from progressive increases in interspersed white hair similar to graying or roan to distinctive, Dalmatian-like leopard spots on a white coat. Secondary characteristics associated with the leopard...
  
  : There are a group of coat patterns caused by the leopard gene complex. It should be noted that not every horse with leopard genetics will exhibit hair coat spotting. However, even solid individuals will exhibit secondary characteristics such as vertically striped hooves, mottled skin around the eyes, lips, and genitalia, plus a white sclera
  Sclera
  The sclera , also known as the white or white of the eye, is the opaque , fibrous, protective, outer layer of the eye containing collagen and elastic fiber. In the development of the embryo, the sclera is derived from the neural crest...
  
   of the eye. Several breeds of horse can boast leopard-spotted (a term used collectively for all patterns) individuals including the Knabstrupper, Noriker
  Noriker horse
  The Noriker horse, also called the Norico-Pinzgauer and historically known as the Pinzgauer horse, is a moderately heavy Austrian draught horse breed. The Noriker is considered indigenous to the central Alpine region of Europe, and is believed to have originated around the highest mountain of...
  
  , and the Appaloosa
  Appaloosa
  The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...
  
  . There are several distinct leopard patterns:
  • blanket: white over the hip that may extend from the tail to the base of the neck. The spots inside the blanket (if present) are the same color as the horse's base coat.
  • varnish roan
    Varnish roan
    Varnish roan describes a horse with coloration similar to roan, but with some changes in color over the years, though not to the extreme of a gray. This type of roaning only occurs in conjunction with the Leopard complex. Varnish roans are born with a dark base coat color, usually with some spotting...
    
    : a mix of body and white hairs that extends over the entire body—no relation to true roan
  • snowflake: white spots on a dark body. Typically the white spots increase in number and size as the horse ages.
  • leopard: dark spots of varying sizes over a white body.
  • few spot leopard: a nearly white horse from birth that retains color just above the hooves, the knees, 'armpits', mane and tail, wind pipe, and face
  • frost: similar to varnish but the white hairs are limited to the back, loins, and neck.

• Palomino
  Palomino
  Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...
  
  : chestnut horse that has one cream dilution gene that turns the horse to a golden, yellow, or tan shade with a flaxen or white mane and tail. Often cited as being a color "within three shades of a newly minted gold coin," palominos range in shades from extremely light, almost cremello, to deep chocolate, but always with a white or flaxen mane and tail.
• Pearl
  Pearl gene
  The Pearl gene, also known as the "Barlink factor," is a dilution gene that somewhat resembles the cream gene and the champagne gene, but is neither. It is a somewhat rare dilution gene found in the American Quarter Horse, American Paint Horse, and Peruvian Paso. The same mutation appears in...
  
  : Also called the "barlink factor," A dilution gene
  Dilution gene
  Dilution gene is a popular term for any one of a number of genes that act to create a lighter coat color in living creatures. There are many examples of such genes:-General:...
  
   that when homozygous, lightens red coats to a uniform apricot-like color, often also resulting in horses with blue eyes. When combined with cream dilution, may produce horses that appear to be cremello or perlino.
• Perlino
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  : similar to a cremello, but 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.
• Pinto
  Pinto horse
  A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. The distinction between "pinto" and "solid" can be tenuous, as so-called "solid" horses frequently have areas of white hair. Various cultures throughout history appear to have selectively bred for pinto...
  
  : a multi-colored horse with large patches of brown, white, and/or black and white. Variations include:
  • Piebald
    Piebald
    A piebald or pied animal is one that has a spotting pattern of large unpigmented, usually white, areas of hair, feathers, or scales and normally pigmented patches, generally black. The colour of the animal's skin underneath its coat is also pigmented under the dark patches and unpigmented under...
    
    : a black and white spotting pattern (term more commonly used in the UK than the USA)
  • Skewbald
    Skewbald
    Skewbald is a color pattern of horses. A skewbald horse has a coat made up of white patches on a non-black base coat, such as chestnut, bay, or any color besides black coat. Skewbald horses which are bay and white are sometimes called tricoloured...
    
    : a spotting pattern of white and any other color other than black, or a spotting pattern of white and two other colors, which may include black. (term more commonly used in the UK than the USA).
  • Overo
    Overo
    Overo refers to several genetically unrelated pinto coloration patterns of white-over-dark body markings in horses, and is a term used by the American Paint Horse Association to classify a set of pinto patterns that are not Tobiano...
    
    : Describes a group of spotting patterns genetically distinct from one another, characterized by sharp, irregular markings with a horizontal orientation, usually more dark than white. In some cases, the face is usually white, often with blue eyes. The white rarely crosses the back, and the lower legs are normally dark. Variations include "Frame Overo" and "Splashed white
    Splashed white
    Splashed white or splash is a horse coat color pattern that produces pink-skinned, white markings. Many splashed whites have very modest markings, while others have the distinctive "dipped in white paint" pattern. Blue eyes are a hallmark of the pattern, and splash may account for otherwise "solid"...
    
    ." Sometimes Sabino
    Sabino horse
    Sabino is a group of white spotting patterns in horses that affect the skin and hair. A wide variety of irregular color patterns are accepted as sabino. In the strictest sense, "sabino" refers to the white patterns produced by the Sabino 1 gene, for which there is a DNA test...
    
     below is also classified in the overo family.
  • Sabino
    Sabino horse
    Sabino is a group of white spotting patterns in horses that affect the skin and hair. A wide variety of irregular color patterns are accepted as sabino. In the strictest sense, "sabino" refers to the white patterns produced by the Sabino 1 gene, for which there is a DNA test...
    
    : Often confused with roan or rabicano
    Rabicano
    Rabicano, also called white ticking, is a horse coat color characterized by limited roaning in a specific pattern: interspersed white hairs most dense and originating from the flank and the tailhead...
    
    , a slight spotting pattern characterized by high white on legs, belly spots, white markings on the face extending past the eyes and/or patches of roaning patterns standing alone or on the edges of white markings
  • Tobiano
    Tobiano
    Tobiano is a spotted color pattern commonly seen in Pinto horses, produced by a dominant gene. The tobiano gene produces white-haired, pink-skinned patches on a base coat color. The coloration is present from birth and does not change throughout the horse's lifetime, unless the horse also carries...
    
    : Spotting pattern characterized by rounded markings with white legs and white across the back between the withers and the dock of the tail, usually arranged in a roughly vertical pattern and more white than dark, with the head usually dark and with markings like that of a normal horse. i.e. star, snip, strip, or blaze.
  • Tovero
    Tovero
    The Tovero coloration is a mix of tobiano and overo colorations in Pinto horses and American Paint Horses. The genetics of pinto coloration are not always fully understood, and some horses have a combination of patterns that does not fit cleanly in either category.Some characteristics of a Tovero...
    
    : spotting pattern that is a mix of tobiano and overo coloration, such as blue eyes on a dark head. May also refer to horses with Tobiano coloring that carry a recessive overo gene
    Gene
    A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
    
    .
  • Paint
    American Paint Horse
    The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors. Developed from a base of spotted horses with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred bloodlines, the American Paint Horse...
    
    : pinto horses with known Quarter Horse and/or Thoroughbred bloodlines. This is a separate breed of horse.

• Rabicano
  Rabicano
  Rabicano, also called white ticking, is a horse coat color characterized by limited roaning in a specific pattern: interspersed white hairs most dense and originating from the flank and the tailhead...
  
  : A roan-like effect that is caused by a genetic modifier that creates a mealy, splotchy, or roaning pattern on only part of the body, usually limited to the underside, flanks, legs, and tail head areas. Unlike a true roan, much of the body will not have white hairs intermingled with solid ones, nor are the legs or head significantly darker than the rest of the horse.
• Roan
  Roan (horse)
  Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane and tail—are more solid-colored. The roan pattern is dominantly-inherited, and is found in many horse breeds...
  
  : a color pattern that causes white hairs to be evenly intermixed within the horse's body color. Roans are distinguishable from greys because roans typically do not change color in their lifetimes, unlike gray that gradually gets lighter as a horse ages. Roans also have heads that are either solid-colored or much darker than their body hair, and do not lighten. Variations of roan include:
  • Red Roan: A chestnut base coat with roaning pattern with the mane and tail being the same red as the body. Red roans are also commonly referred to as a Strawberry Roan, and the term Red Roan is occasionally is used to describe a Bay Roan.
  • Bay Roan: A Bay base coat with roaning pattern (the mane and tail of the Bay Roan will be Black). Bay roans are sometimes also called Red Roans.
  • Blue Roan: A black with roaning pattern, not to be confused with a gray or a blue dun/grullo. A roan tends to have a darker head, while grays not only lighten with age, but their heads tend to lighten before the rest of their bodies. A blue roan has mixed-color hairs, a blue dun will usually be a solid color and have dun striping.

• Silver dapple
  Silver dapple gene
  The silver dapple gene is a dilution gene that affects the black base coat color. It will typically dilute a black mane and tail to flaxen, and a black body to a shade of brown or chocolate. It is responsible for a group of coat colors in horses called "silver dapple" in the west, or "taffy" in...
  
  : Caused by a dilution gene that only acts upon black hair pigment, it lightens black body hair to a chocolate brown and the mane and tail to silver. The gene may be carried but will not be visible on horses with a red base coat. Silver dapple horses may also be called Chocolate, Flax, or Taffy.
• Smoky black
  Smoky black
  Smoky black is a hair coat color of horses in which the coat is either black or a few shades lighter than true black. Smoky black is produced by the action of a heterozygous cream gene on an underlying black coat color...
  
  : Horse visually appears to be either a black with a mildly bleached-out coat or a dull dark bay, but is actually has a black base coat and one copy of the cream gene
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  .
• Smoky Cream
  Cream gene
  The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
  
  : Virtually indistinguishable from a cremello or perlino without DNA testing, a horse with a black base coat and two copies of the cream gene.
• White
  White (horse)
  White horses are born white and stay white throughout their life. White horses may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant white genes, are rare...
  
   : One of the rarest colors, a white horse has white hair and fully or largely unpigmented (pink) skin. These horses are born white, with blue or brown eyes, and remain white for life. The vast majority of so-called "white" horses are actually grays
  Gray (horse)
  Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
  
   with a fully white hair coat. A truly white horse that lives to adulthood occurs one of two ways: either by inheriting one copy of a dominant white
  Dominant white
  Dominant white is a group of genetically related coat color conditions in the horse, best known for producing an all-white coat, but also for producing some forms of white spotting and white markings. Dominant white horses are born with unpigmented pink skin and white hair with dark eyes, although...
  
   ("W") gene, of which several have been identified, or is a particular type of sabino
  Sabino horse
  Sabino is a group of white spotting patterns in horses that affect the skin and hair. A wide variety of irregular color patterns are accepted as sabino. In the strictest sense, "sabino" refers to the white patterns produced by the Sabino 1 gene, for which there is a DNA test...
  
   that is homozygous for the "SB-1" gene. However, a foal with the genetic disease known as Lethal white syndrome
  Lethal white syndrome
  Lethal white syndrome , also called overo lethal white syndrome , lethal white overo , and overo lethal white foal syndrome , is an autosomal genetic disorder most prevalent in the American Paint Horse...
  
   dies shortly after birth. There are no "albinos
  Albinism
  Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin...
  
  " in the horse world. Albino, defined as animals with a white coat with pink skin and reddish eyes, is created by genetic mechanisms that do not exist in horses. In some cases, homozygous dominant white
  Dominant white
  Dominant white is a group of genetically related coat color conditions in the horse, best known for producing an all-white coat, but also for producing some forms of white spotting and white markings. Dominant white horses are born with unpigmented pink skin and white hair with dark eyes, although...
  
   is thought to be an embryonic lethal, though this has not been established for all white horses.

Other color modifiers

• Sooty is a genetic modifier that causes dark hairs to be dispersed within the coat, darkening the whole coat.
• Pangare
  Pangaré
  Pangaré is a coat trait found in some domestic horses that features pale hair around the eyes and muzzle and underside of the body. These pale areas can extend up to the flanks, throat and chest, behind the elbows, in front of the stifle, and up the buttock. Animals with the pangaré trait are...
  
   is a modifier that is the opposite of sooty, it causes individual hairs to lighten, causing lightened areas on the muzzle, flank and belly of a horse.
• "Flaxen" used only to describe the lightened mane and tail of a chestnut, has been proposed as a genetic modifier, particularly when it appears to be a trait of certain breeds. However, the genetic mechanism of this process has yet to be identified.

Markings and other unique identifiers

White markings are present at birth and unique to each horse, making them useful in identifying individual animals. Markings usually have pink skin underneath them, though some faint markings may not, and white hairs may extend past the area of underlying pink skin. Though markings that overlie dark skin may appear to change, the underlying skin color and hair growing from pink skin will not. Horses may also be uniquely identified by an unusual eye color, whorls, brands

Livestock branding

Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to a hot brand for large stock, though the term is now also used to refer to other alternative techniques such as freeze branding...

 and chestnuts

Chestnut (horse anatomy)

The chestnut, also known as a night eye, is a callousity on the body of a horse or other equine, found on the inner side of the leg above the knee on the foreleg and, if present, below the hock on the hind leg....

.

Color breeds

Registries have opened that accept horses (and sometimes ponies and mules) of almost any breed or type, with color either the only requirement for registration or the primary criterion. These are called "color breeds." Unlike "true" horse breeds, there are few if any unique physical characteristics required, nor is the stud book limited to only certain breeds or offspring of previously registered horses. As a general rule, the color also does not always breed on (in some cases, due to genetic improbability), and offspring without the stated color are usually not eligible for recording with the color breed registry. The best-known color breed registries are for buckskins, palomino

Palomino

Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...

s, and pintos

Pinto horse

A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. The distinction between "pinto" and "solid" can be tenuous, as so-called "solid" horses frequently have areas of white hair. Various cultures throughout history appear to have selectively bred for pinto...

.

Some "true" breeds also have color that usually breeds on as well as distinctive physical characteristics and a limited stud book

Breed registry

A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...

. These horses are true breeds that are said to have a "color preference." They are not color breeds, and include the Friesian horse

Friesian horse

The Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war...

 (must be black for mainstream registration), the Appaloosa

Appaloosa

The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...

 (Leopard or other small spotting patterns) and the American Paint Horse

American Paint Horse

The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors. Developed from a base of spotted horses with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred bloodlines, the American Paint Horse...

. In some breeds, though not all, offspring of animals registered in these stud books can also be registered, sometimes with restrictions, even if they do not have the desired color.