Wayne Loch, John F. Lasley and Melvin Bradley

Department of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

Loud-colored horses command high prices. Of course they must be acceptable in

conformation. Horsemen often ask, "How can I get a certain coat color?" or "Why did I get so much difference in the foal's color compared to its parents' color?"

Some colors are easy to get because only one pair of genes is involved. Generally

speaking, the louder the coat color, the more complex the inheritance and the more

difficult it is to produce.

An understanding of a few principles of cellular division will help you predict coat color.

The bodies of all animals are made up of microscopic building blocks called cells. A cell

consists of a cell wall and a nucleus, which is more or less in the center of the cell.

Between the nucleus and the cell wall is the cytoplasm.

The genetic material is carried within the nucleus of the cell in the form of chromosomes.

Chromosomes are threadlike structures that occur in pairs, or as twins, in body cells. For

each pair of chromosomes in the nucleus, one came from the father and one from the

mother. Each cell possesses 32 pairs of chromosomes. The possible combinations of these

are in the millions.

Of the pairs of chromosomes in each cell, only one of the individuals in each pair will be

transmitted to any one off-spring. Which one of a pair is transmitted depends on chance.

Each chromosome carries many different genes. The genes may be compared to a number

of beads on a string.

Genes also occur in pairs in body cells, and each gene is identified by giving it one of the

Black and brown are the two basic colors of horses. Let's designate pure black with two

and hooves. It will remain this color throughout its life and will not fade in sunlight.

brown color in sunlight. Each spring its new hair coat will be black. When kept out of the

sun, these horses are difficult to distinguish. Sometimes brown hairs may be found on their

lips and flanks.

being black. Therefore, their genetic makeup, or genotype, is known since it can only be

expressed when both genes are the same. Brown is produced mainly by crossing

brown-colored horses together or by crossing browns with Palominos.

What coat colors do you expect when you breed a pure black stallion to a brown or

chestnut mare? The only genes the stallion has to transmit are dominant black genes.

What color combinations would you expect from breeding a herd of chestnut mares to an

impure, or heterozygous, black stallion?

The stallion has one dominant black gene and one recessive gene for brown. On an average

these would be transmitted with equal frequency — that is, half of his foals from chestnut

or brown mares would be impure black and half chestnut or brown.

Finally, what colors would you expect from the mating of impure black horses?

Since they are impure, each has a dominant and a recessive gene. On an average, random

segregation of genes will produce three blacks to one brown. Two of the blacks, however,

will be impure and one pure.

Some stallion owners will guarantee a black foal from such a mating. This is because their

horse has never sired a brown foal. If a stallion or mare has ever produced a brown

offspring, it is proof without fail that they are impure or heterozygous for this color. This

genetic principle applies to many traits in animals and humans.

We may have oversimplified the genetics of coat color. Some horses are intermediate

between colors and may be difficult to classify into a color group. A sorrel horse might be

called light chestnut by some people when it is actually sorrel in color.

Chestnut horses range in color from reddish brown to liver-colored with brown manes and

tails. If they had black manes and tails, they would be bays.

Bay horses have black manes and tails. This distinguishes them from chestnuts and sorrels.

In addition, they usually have black stockings. However, a bay horse with typical black

mane and tail may have one or more white stockings along with black ones. Bay horses

may also have white facial markings.

Bay colors range from light to dark or red bay. Many bays are solid-colored with the

exception of black stockings.

Genetically, buckskins are basically black. They have black points or legs and may come

in many shades. Their name comes from tanned leather, and they resemble real buckskin in

color.

Duns are buckskins with dorsal stripes. These stripes extend from the withers to the tail

head. The withers are often black.

A grulla is a dun with roan characteristics. Yellow hairs mixed with brown or black

produce a grayish-blue mouse color. Most grullas have black points and dorsal stripes.

Buckskin and dun come from matings such as buckskin x buckskin, Palomino x black or

Palomino x bay.

Greys have a mixture of white and black hairs. This is because of a "greying" gene. Many

horses born dark will lighten with age, but few get completely light.

With a dapple grey horse, the dappling usually appears between two and five years of age

and remains throughout life. It is a very popular color. When the coat has a great deal of

black in it, the horse is said to be iron grey or steel grey.

Grey coat color is most often obtained by crossing grey x grey, grey x black or grey x

buckskin.

Dominant white color is given this name because it causes horses of any color to be white

with colored eyes. Whites should not be confused with greys, which are almost white, or

with pseudo-albino, Type A, which comes from the mating of Palomino with Palomino.

dominant white individuals with colored individuals will give approximately 50 percent

white and 50 percent colored offspring.

Basically, Palominos are brown, but they also possess one dilution gene. Palominos should

be the color of a "newly-minted gold coin." However, they vary from almost white to very

dark. They must have "flaxen," or white, manes and tails.

A medium, or golden, Palomino is very desirable. When well-groomed and fitted, they

present a striking appearance. Because of the genetic complexity of Palomino color

inheritance, a desirable color is hard to get. A good way is to mate sorrels with

pseudo-albinos, or Type A, but these horses can't be registered as Palominos. Palominos

crossed together produce about half Palomino colors.

Roan is a mixture of white hair with colored hair over the entire body. Mixtures of white

black, a horse may be pure for roaning or may be roan-colored with a recessive gene.

Blue roan is a mixture of white and black hair. For horses to produce roan offspring, one

parent should be roan. Because of their dominance, roans should not be used when trying

to get Appaloosa or Paint coloring.

Paints or Pintos are white and spotted with color in varying proportions over the body. The

gene for spotting is dominant to nonspotting. Black and white spotting is known as

"piebald." Most spotted horses are piebald or skewbald. A skewbald is a Paint or Pinto

with white spots and any other color than black. Most common are bays, chestnuts and

sometimes buckskins.

Paints and Pintos can further be divided into color patterns called "tobiano" and "overo."

Tobianos are usually white on the legs below the hocks. They often have white across the

back.

Overos seldom have white across the back. Their faces are often bald or with a bonnet

pattern. When overos are bred together, they sometimes have a white foal that dies shortly

after birth.

There are several kinds of Appaloosas. The mode of inheritance of Appaloosa coloring is

not well understood. Many Appaloosas have blanket patterns. When these types are mated,

the frequency of getting desirable coloring is good.

Leopard coloring is white with dark spots. Some are striking in color and uniformity of

spotting. Such types command high prices. A "frost" or "roan" Appaloosa is not a true

roan, but has a frosted appearance. Usually the forehand or front is darker.

Snowflake coloring is tiny white spots on a darker body, producing a salt-and-pepper

appearance.

Colors that have the least probabilities of success in crosses for Appaloosa color are duns,

Palominos, greys and all light colors.

Appaloosas crossed together and with blacks, browns, bays, dark chestnuts and sorrels

have the best chance of getting desirable color.

A star is a clearly-defined spot on the forehead. A stripe is a narrow path of white from

forehead to muzzle. A snip is a patch of white on the nose or muzzle. There can be many

combinations of star, stripe and snip.

Blazes are wide stripes extending from between the eyes down over the nose. When the

white stripe extends onto the flat side of the face, the horse is said to have a bald face.

Common leg color markings are equally variable. They range from very little to full

stockings. When combined with face markings, they add significantly to the color patterns

of most horses.

Horses come in all color combinations. Solid colors are easier to breed, with loud colors

and mixtures being more difficult to obtain. We must select good individuals with color

and not sacrifice utility, as any good athletic horse wears his color well.

Copyright 1999 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. Issued in furtherance of

Cooperative Extension Work Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. Ronald J.

Turner, Director, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Missouri and Lincoln University, Columbia, Missouri 65211. • University

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