Transcript Colours and Markings of Horses

Colours and Markings of Horses
Colours
 Black-whole coat inc. legs, muzzle and
flanks are black.
 Any indication of tan classifies the horse as
brown.
 If the lower legs and the mane and tail are
black or darker than the body the horse is
bay- if the difference is small-dark bay
A Brown Horse
 Looks almost black
but has a brown
muzzle.
 No brown at all on a
black horse
A Bay Horse
The mane and tail are black
as are the lower legs. They
may still have white “socks”
like this pony
Chestnuts
 Chestnut is a reddish or yellowish brown
 Sometimes they have “blond” manes which
is called “flaxen”
 If the chestnut is a rich dark colour it is
called a “liver chestnut”.
Chestnut
Chestnut with flaxen mane
Grey
 Where the body coat is a varying mosaic of
black and white hairs and the skin is black.
 Variation according to age (get lighter) and
time of year.
 For identification purposes should stick to
just “grey”.
greys
Roans
 Blue roans have a black colour with white
hairs flecked through it.
 Red roans are bay brown with white hairs
through it.
 Chestnut or strawberry roans are chestnut
with white hairs.
Duns, cream and palamino
 They tend to have a dark stripe down their
backs.
 They may be blue or yellow duns. They
have a black mane and tail.
 Cream is a cream colour with unpigmented
skin.
 Palomino is “newly minted gold coin colour
“Coloured” horses
 Piebald is patches of
black and white
 Skewbald is patches of
brown and white
 Appaloosian is spotty.
White Markings
 Any white mark on the
forehead of the horse
is called a star.
 A stripe is a narrow
strip down the face
that is only the width
of the flat area
 A blaze is a wider
white stripe.
Flesh marks
 Some horses have
areas with no pigment
on their lips.
Pink area is a flesh mark