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| HORSE REGISTRATION |
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BASIC PAINT HORSE COAT COLOURS
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Chestnut
Body colour reddish or copper-red; mane and tail usually same colour as body, but may be very dark brown.
Sorrel
Body colour reddish or copper-red; mane and tail flaxen which is a golden or off-white colour
Colour Genetic code: e/e |
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Liver Chestnut
Body colour dark red or brownish red; range from light to dark liver chestnut; liver chestnut can be distinguished from or brown by the bronze or copper highlights on the legs; mane and tail usually dark red or brownish red, but may be flaxen which is a silvery colour.
Colour Genetic code: e/e |
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Palomino
Diluted body color varying from rich gold to pale yellow; mane and tail generally pale or off-white but may be same color as body (with non-black points).
Colour Genetic code: e/e, n/Cr |
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Cremello
Double dilute on chestnut resulting in body colour, mane and tail of cream or off-white with pale pinkish skin; the coat has enough yellow hue to allow white markings to be visible; eyes are blue or amber.
Colour Genetic code: e/e, Cr/Cr |
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Red Dun
A form of dun with body color yellowish or flesh-colored; mane and tail are red or reddish; has red or reddish primitive markings, will usually have a pronounced dorsal stripe.
Genetic code: e/e + dun factor |
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Red Roan
The overall intermingling of white hairs with chestnut body color; head, lower legs, mane and tail are usually chestnut or dark red; does not get progressively whiter with age.
Roaning may be produced by the sabino coat pattern gene.
Genetic code: e/e |
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Black
Entire coat, including muzzle, flanks and legs, are black; colour may fade when exposed to the sun; could have rusty tinge during certain times of the year; foals may be an overall mousey grey, then shed to black.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E |
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Brown
Body colour brown or black, with light areas at muzzle, eyes, flank and inside upper legs; mane and tail usually black.
Brown is believed to be a variant of the Bay (A) gene and is described as At
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, a/At |
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Bay
Body colour reddish brown, with variations ranging from dark blood bay to bright bay and usually distinguished by black mane and tail, ear tips, lower legs.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, a/A or A/A |
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Smoky Black
Single dilute form of black. A single cream gene does not greatly affect black pigment. Smoky Black horses look like regular Black horses although some may be faded so much they appear Brown or even Bay. Smoky blacks are usually identified by genetic testing or by the colours of their offspring.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, a/a, n/Cr |
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Smoky Cream
Double dilute form of black. Like all 'double dilutes', Smoky Creams will have pink skin and blue eyes, however there maybe a wide variation in body colour from cream coloured ranging to near white, to a light reddish, khaki, or greyish tone. Mane, tail and legs are typically slightly darker but may also be the same colour as the body.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, a/a, Cr/Cr |
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Buckskin
Single dilute form of bay, body colour yellowish or gold, mane and tail black; black on lower legs; lacks primitive markings.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, a/A or A/A, n/Cr |
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Perlino
Double dilute of bay/brown resulting in body colour of cream or off-white, lower legs, mane and tail light rust or chocolate shade; skin is pinkish or gray; eyes are blue or amber; the coat has enough yellow hue to allow white markings to be visible.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, A/a or A/A, Cr/Cr |
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Grullo
A form of dun with body colour smoky or mouse-colored (not a mixture of black and white hairs, but each hair mouse-colored); mane and tail black; has black primitive markings, may have a visible dorsal stripe.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E + Dun factor |
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Dun
A diluted form of bay, similar in appearance to buckskin with a body colour of yellowish or gold; mane and tail are black or brown; has dorsal stripe and other primitive markings such zebra stripes on legs or shading over withers which are not present on buckskins.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, A/a or A/A, + Dun factor |
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Blue Roan
The overall intermingling of white hairs with a black body colour, head, lower legs, mane and tail are usually solid or darker; does not get progressively whiter with age.
Roaning may be produced by the sabino coat pattern gene.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E |
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Bay Roan
The overall intermingling of white hairs with bay body colour; head, lower legs, mane and tail are usually solid or darker; does not get progressively whiter with age.
Roaning may be produced by the sabino coat pattern gene.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, a/A or A/A |
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Grey
Dominant over all other colour genes; born any colour with white hair progressively turning the coat whiter as the horse ages; dark skin; normally greys first around eyes and behind ears. This example is a black or bay horse turned grey.
Genetic code: Anything + Grey |
| OTHER COLOUR VARIATIONS |
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Horses may display or carry any of the above coat colours in combination and it is often hard to tell the exact makeup (and therefore what coloured offspring they may produce) without genetic testing. Colours such as 'Dunalino', 'Dunskin' and other combinations of dilutions can produce interesting results.
In addition there are the uncommon coat colour dilutions of Champagne, Pearl (formerly known as the Barlink Factor) and Silver Dapple, all present in Paint Horses. |
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Champagne
A champagne horse must have at least one champagne parent. A horse with one or two Champagne genes will be born with blue eyes and pigmented pink skin. This pink color is noticeably different from the pink of skin found under white markings which has no pigment. The eyes gradually turn light brown, and the skin develops dark freckles as the horse matures. The freckling shows up around the eyes, on the muzzle, under the tail, and on the udder or sheath.
The colour of a champagne horse will vary according to the base coat colour. At present there is no gene test for Champagne
Genetic code: Anything + champagne |
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Pearl
On a chestnut background, Pearl produces a pale, uniform apricot color of body hair, mane and tail. Skin coloration is also pale. The effect is similar to Champagne. Pearl is known to interact with Cream dilution to produce pseudo-double Cream dilute appearance including pale skin and blue/green eyes. The effect on black based horses is unknown.
Pearl is a recessive Cream activated gene. It is only known to occur in Quarter Horses and Paints with a pedigree tracing back to a particular line of Barlink horses.
Genetic code: e/e, Prl/Prl
OR: e/e, n/Prl, n/Cr (cream activated) |
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Silver Dapple
The Silver Dapple dilution has different effects on different base colours. It affects only black based horses. Red based horses (chestnuts) can be carriers but will not display any characteristics. Some variations are known colloquially in Australia as 'Taffy'. Silver dilution may lighten the body colour, somtimes producing characteristic dapples and will also lighten tails and manes. The extent of the lightening can vary greatly.
Although the first silver paint horse has now been registered with the APHA (2007), there is no reported occurence of Silver Dapple in Australian Paint Horses at this time.
Genetic code: E/e or E/E, n/Z or Z/Z |
MORE INFORMATION
Horse coat colour genetics, visit the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
Champagne characteristics, visit the ICHR website.
Silver Dapple characteristics, visit the Silver Dapple website
Horse coat colours visit the EquineColor.com website.*
* Please note that not all information on this site with regard to white patterns is endorsed by the PHAA. There is still some conjecture about 'Splashed White' and the site uses the American meaning for Overo.
For information on Registration of Paint Horses, go to our Registration Guidelines page.
For information on coat pattern types, go to our Identification Guide page.
Date of last page update: 01.03.2008
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Paint Horse Association of Australia
PO Box 1008, Dubbo, NSW, 2830, Australia
Phone: (02) 6884 5513 Fax: (02) 6884 5517
Email: office@painthorse.com.au
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