Horse colors/markings

Points of a Horse

Mane, tail, ear tips, lower portion of the legs

White

Absence of color rather than a true color

Pink around eyes, ears, and muzzle

90% have brown eyes

Cremello

Creamy to white body color; pink skin and blue eyes

White mane and tail; pink around eyes, ears, and muzzle

Gray

Another color of white hairs mixed with a base color

Fades from a solid color at birth to white as the horse grows older

Black around eyes, ears, and muzzle

Dapple Grey

Mottled coat, Black around muzzle, eyes, and ears

Appaloosa

Random areas of white spread over a base color

White areas are bilaterally symmetrical

Mottled skin around eyes and muzzle

Striped hooves

Dun

–Sandy/yellow to brownish/red body with red points

–Always have a red dorsal stripe; sometimes zebra stripes

–Some have face masking (darker head color)

Grullo / Grulla

–Bluish color (mousy grays) with black points

–Most have a black dorsal stripe

–Sometimes black zebra stripes on top of leg

Palomino

Yellow to gold body color with cream to white points

Buckskin

Yellow body color with black points

Chestnut

Deep red body color with black hairs intermingled

Same color points as body; some white markings

Sorrel

Clear red color; usually lighter than chestnut

Mane and tail are lighter than body color

Bay

Brownish-red body color with black points

Black

Denotes a uniform shade of black

No brown hairs anywhere

Very rare color

Roan

Mixture of white and other colored hairs (incomplete dominance)

Blue Roan = Black horse w/ roan gene (darker points)

Strawberry Roan = Chestnut/sorrel horse w/ roan gene (lighter points)

Bay Roan = Bay horse w/ roan gene (darker points)

Paints & Pintos

–Random areas of white on any base coat

–Tobiano:  White starts dorsally and moves down (white over midline)

•White edges are smooth or rounded

–Overo:  White on sides or ventrum (no white over midline)

•White edges are irregular or jagged

Bald Face

a very broad blaze that, for all or part of its length, extends to or past the inside corner of one or both eyes.

Blaze

wide white marking that runs for all or most of the length of the horse's face

Snip

small white marking between the nostrils

star

white marking on the forehead, usually defined as between or above the eyes

Strip or stripe

a white marking in the middle of the face. It is very narrow compared to a blaze. may run for all or only part of the length of the horse's face. also called both

Coronet

Small white band directly above coronary band of hoof

Pastern

White patch completely or almost completely covering the pastern of a horse

Sock

White patch that extends from hoof to a point past the fetlock but not to the knee or stifle

Stocking

White patch that extends to at least the knee or stifle

Tobiano

White starts dorsally and moves down (white over midline)

White edges are smooth or rounded

Overo

White on sides or ventrum (no white over midline)

White edges are irregular or jagged

Leopard

Blanket

Snowflake