COLOR GENETICS INFORMATION

This information compiled with the help of Heather Rauschenberger and Lesli Kathman
and a lot of discussions on horse color on various model horse lists and with real horse owners.
This list is not intended to be the answer to all horse color questions.

Disclaimer: I am not a researcher into Equine color genetics and I make no claims that everything there is to know about it is presented on this page.

Keep in mind that different horse breed registries may categorize colors differently; some may call a horse a chestnut while another registry would call the same color sorrel, etc. Generally these registries are going by what the horses have traditionally been called and often the breed registries are notorious for saying that a particular color does not exist in a breed when it does -- they just register it as something else. These registries will sometimes refuse to register a foal as its correct color simply because that color is not on the registry's list of "accepted colors". In many cases, the owners of the foal then have to register the horse as an incorrect color. Also, some breeders are fond of calling their light chestnuts with blonde/flaxen manes and tails "palominos" when they are not genetically palominos.

For Model Horse Collectors: The information contained on this page will assist you in assigning parents of the correct colors for your model horse or simulated racing ID foals. This page is especially useful if you are looking for parents for a rare colored foal. For example, if you have a foal of an unusual color, but can't find parents of the same color, please check out the information below -- it could give you clues about using a parent that you didn't know would work, by combining certain other colors. If you have questions, feel free to email me at the link above.

For People With Real Horses: This page may be useful to you in helping you to determine what color your horse is, but it doesn't have all the answers. If after looking over the information here, you would like for me to take a guess at your horse's color, then you can email me at the link at the top of the page. I need to have at least one good, clear photo of the horse or its parents attached to the email (.gif or .jpg format only), and it would also help if you include the colors of the parents if you know what they are. I make no guarantees, but I would be glad to try and help you figure out the color of your horse..

There are links at the bottom of the page to more information on EQUINE COLOR GENETICS.

Foal's Color	Description of Color	Possible Parent Colors
Chestnut	Body, mane, tail and legs are reddish in color. Mane and tail may be the same color or flaxen. Eyes are dark	Any color x any color
Bay	Body is red. Mane, tail and legs are black. Eyes are dark.	Bay x any color
Black	Body, mane, tail, and legs are black. Eyes are dark.	Black x any color. Also possible is bay x any color (must have a bay parent carrying recessive black)
Grey	Body, mane, tail and legs are grey. Eyes are dark.	All grey horses must have at least one grey parent. Rose grey, dapple grey, flea-bitten grey are all just variations on grey.
Rose grey over chestnut	Body and legs appears "rose" or pinkish grey. Mane and tail are light. Eyes are dark.	Any grey x any color (Rose grey is simply a descriptive term for one stage of grey which a chestnut or bay horse may go through as it gets progressively greyer. It is not a permanent color.)
Rose grey over bay	Body and legs appears "rose" or pinkish grey. Mane and tail are dark. Eyes are dark.	Any grey x bay (Rose grey is simply a descriptive term for one stage of grey which a chestnut or bay horse may go through as it gets progressively greyer. It is not a permanent color.)
Strawberry Roan (roan over chestnut)	Body is roan. Mane, tail, and legs are red. Eyes are dark. Head will be body color without roaning. This is a true roan.	Any roan x any color (roan is a mix of the body color & white hairs)
Red Roan (roan over bay)	Body is roan. Mane, tail and legs are black. Eyes are dark. Head will be body color without roaning. This is a true roan.	Any roan x bay, red roan x any color (roan is a mix of the body color & white hairs)
Blue Roan (roan over black)	Body is roan. Mane, tail and legs are black. Eyes are dark.	Any roan x black, any roan x bay (must have a bay parent carrying recessive black) , blue roan x any color
Other Roans	Body can be buckskin, palomino, dun, etc. Mane, tail, and legs will be the color usually associated with the solid color. Buckskin = black m/t, black legs; palomino = white m/t; dun = darker than body color dun m/t/legs	Any roan plus the other color (buckskin, palomino, dun, etc.)
Rabicano	This is not "true roan." Body is any color with some roaning, typically along the horse's barrel and in the flank area, often also in the area between the horse's front legs. The head area is usually normally colored, not dark with a light body as in true roans. Mane and tail have light colored hairs at the base. Legs are body color or may have normal leg markings. Eyes are dark.(This color variation looks much like roan, although the white hairs are concentrated along the flanks. Individuals with drastic rabicano coloring will have white across more of the body. Rabicanos have a speckled, rather than a roan, effect, and some even have a brindled appearance. The dock (base) of the tail will also have white hairs this is the dead giveaway. Rabicano occurs on all base colors. The coat color does not change with time, and can be very faint.	Rabicano x any color This coloring is believed to be dominant, so it is best to have at least one parent with the pattern. Sometimes this color is called "Arab roan" because it seems to have originated with this breed. It is the only variation of roan that purebred Arabians come in.
Palomino (chestnut w/cream dilution factor)	Body and legs are golden. Mane and tail are white. Eyes are dark.	Cremello or Palomino x chestnut (will only produce palominos), Palomino x any color, Buckskin x any color, bBack x any color (only if the black parent is carrying a hidden cream gene)
Buckskin (bay w/cream dilution factor)	Body is golden. Mane, tail and legs are black. Eyes are dark	Cremello x bay, buckskin x any color, palominio x bay, black x bay (black parent must have hidden cream gene)
Cremello (horse carries double cream dilution gene)	Body and legs are ivory. Man and tail are white. Eyes are always blue.	Palomino x palomino, palomino x buckskin, buckskin x buckskin, black x palomino, black x buckskin, black x black (in all cases, black parents must have hidden cream gene)
Dunalino	Body is golden, mane and tail white, legs dark. Eyes are dark. Will have characteristic dun dorsal stripe, perhaps other primitive markings as well.	Palomino or Buckskin x any dun
Red Dun (dun over chestnut)	Body is light red. Mane, tail and legs are darker red. Eyes are dark. Horse will carry primitive markings (dorsal stripe, leg barring, etc.)	Any dun x any color
Yellow Dun (dun over bay)	Body is light red. Mane, tail and legs are black. Eyes are dark. Horse will carry primitive markings (dorsal stripe, leg barring, etc.)	Yellow dun x any color; any dun x bay
Grulla (dun over black)	Body is slate grey/blue colored. Mane, tail, and legs are black. Eyes are dark. Horse will carry primitive markings (dorsal stripe, leg barring, etc.)	Grulla x any color, any dun x black, any dun x bay (bay parent must carry recessive black)
Silver Dapple Black	Body is chocolate dapple. Mane and tail are flaxen (silver) or white. Legs are dappled. Eyes are dark.	Silver dapple x any color, silver dapple bay x black, black x chestnut (chestnut parent must have hidden silver dapple gene)
Silver Dapple Bay	Body is red. Mane and tail are flaxen or mixed. Legs are black. Eyes are dark	Silver dapple x bay, silver dapple bay x any color, bay x chestnut (chestnut parent must have hidden silver dapple gene)
Gold Champagne (chestnut)	Body and legs are golden. Man and tail are white. Eyes are amber. Champarne often has a sort of metallic sheen to it.	Champagne x any color, any champagne x any color
Amber Champagne (bay)	Body is golden. Mane, tail and legs are chocolate brown. Eyes are amber. (Has sometimes been confused with buckskin.)	Any champagne x any color, amber champagne x any color
Champagne (black)	Body is bronze. Mane, tail and legs are chocolate. Eyes are amber.	Any champagne x black, any champagne x bay (bay parent must carry recessive black), champagne x any color
NOTES ON CHAMPAGNE: This is a fairly new term for colors that once were thought to be a type of palominio or dun, but now are understood to be the result of an entirely different gene. The color takes its name from a strain of the TWH famous for this color, but it does occur in other breeds, where it is often mistaken for palomino, buckskin, or dun. This dilution gene dilutes both the coat hairs and the skin pigmentation, unlike other dilution genes. The champagne gene causes red pigmented hair to turn golden and black pigmented hair to become chocolate. Also, the skin looks brownish pink, and the eyes will always be amber (hence those amber-eyed palominos we hear about). The effect is that of a chocolate Labrador or a Viszla dog; the foals even have blue eyes at birth that darken to amber, similar to those found in the similar colored dogs. Champagnes that are genetically chestnut are gold champagnes, and look like pink-skinned palominos with amber eyes. If a gold champagne is particularly light, it can be mistaken for a cremello, but the amber eyes are a dead giveaway, as is the skin, which has a slight brownish tint to it, unlike a true cremello. Champagnes that are genetically bay are amber champagnes, and like the gold champagne, will have the pink brown skin, golden coat, and amber eyes, but the points will be chocolate colored. Champagnes that are genetically black are usually just called 'champagne'; in the past, they were often called 'lilac dun' because this champagne often has a purplish cast to the coat. Like gold and amber champagnes, they have pink brown skin and amber eyes, but the coat is a dark bronze color. Champagnes that also inherit the cream gene in addition to the champagne gene are often much lighter, and are called ivory champagnes. The color is believed to be dominant, and is also believed not to have additive effects when two champagne genes are inherited. In other words, homozygous champagnes, if they truly exist, probably aren't any lighter that a heterozygous champagne. A champagne horse must always have a champagne parent.
Tobiano pinto	Spotted, white usually crosses the spine of the horse. Mane and tail are often mixed white and colored. All 4 legs are usually white. Eyes are usually dark.	Tobiano x any color
Overo pinto	Spotted, white usually does not cross the back. Mane and tail are usually colored. Legs are usually colored; may have regular markings. Eyes may be dark or blue.	Overo x any color (Note that not all overos have enough white to be easily classified as pintos, but still are, and still produce, overos.)
Tovero	Spotted, a blend of Tobiano & Overo characteristics	Any Tobiano x any Overo.
Sabino pinto	Body is the base color with white spots or markings, may have some roaning or haloing at edges spots. Mane and tail are colored or mixed white. Sabino is a modifier gene responsible for a type of pinto markings on the horse. Sometimes these markings may be only high white stockings and a lot of white on the face.There may be a few body spots as well. Eyes are dark or blue.	Sabino x any color. In some breeds: any color x any color (when linked to chestnut). As with overo, sometimes it is hard to tell if a horse is sabino. If you have a horse with "high white" markings which are pointed and jagged on the ends, and with face markings where the white goes under the chin, then you may have a minimally marked sabino.
Splash White pinto	Upper part of the body is usually colored, and the white looks like it was "splashed" upwards on the horse from the legs. Mane and tail are usually dark. Legs are white. Eyes are almost always blue.	Splash white x any color (Note that many splashes don't look like pintos, but extreme bald faces and blue eyes are good indicators.)
Leopard	Appaloosa pattern. Body and legs are white with spots. Mane and tail are mixed. Eyes are dark.	Leopard x any color, blanket x blanket.
Few spot Leopard	Appaloosa pattern. Body and legs are white with very few spots (may have as few as or even less than a dozen spots on the entire horse). Mane and tail are white. Eyes are dark.	Leopard x leopard; few spot leopard x any color. It is believed that few spot leopards are dominant and will result in all foals having some sort of Appaloosa pattern.
Blanket	Appaloosa pattern. Body is dark with white patch over loins and hips; white patch may or may not have spots. Mane, tail and legs are dark. Eyes are dark.	Leopard x any color, blanket x any color
Varnish Roan	Appaloosa pattern. Body is roan with spots. Mane and tail are dark or mixed. Legs are dark. Eyes are dark. The varnish mark, or marble, roan appaloosa coloring usually occurs because of extensive appaloosa to appaloosa crossing, with little or no outcrossing to other breeds and/or colors. Appaloosa roan lightens progressively over the life of the horse. Varnish roans are distinctive that the areas with bone closer to the skin (leg joints, the face) stay dark while the rest of the body lightens.	Varnish roan x any color (some varnish roans are misregistered as true roans). . It is often in the best interest of the breeder for appaloosa colors to outcross to other breeds (QH, TB and Arabian) on a regular basis in order to maintain good color and not end up with a horse that is so washed out that it is an undesirable color. All 3 of these breeds are approved outcrosses and foals that are Appaloosa crossed with any of the three are allowed to be registered in the Appaloosa stud book.
Snowflake	Appaloosa pattern. Body is sprinkled with white spots.	Snowflake x any color.
For more information on Appaloosa patterns, check this site: http://talesfromthevault.com/blackadder/registry/examples.html

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION:

You can also check out the books written by Dr. Phil Sponenberg for more in-depth information. His books also contain color photos of many horses, illustrating the various colors. http://www.premierpub.com/books/inprint/color-genetics.htm

For more information on Model Horse Pedigree Assignment, contact IPABRA, the International Pedigree Assignment and Bloodline Research Association: Chris Wallbruch, President, 1228 Lloyd Avenue, Lombard, IL 60148.

EQUINE COLOR GENETICS

INFORMATION PAGE

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION: