Guide to Identifying Horse Colors

There's a wide array of horse colors and names used for identification. Even within each color category, there are various descriptors to define a horse's appearance! Horse colors fall into two main groups: black-point and non-black-point colors. Black-point horses exhibit black manes, tails, and lower legs, while non-black-point ones have differently colored manes, tails, and lower legs. Familiarize yourself with common colors and their names to recognize different horses.

Spotting a bay horse is easy due to its deep red or reddish-brown body shade and black points. Bay horses vary in shades of red and reddish-brown, always sporting black manes, tails, and lower legs. Some may have a blend of darker and lighter hair in their coats.

• Standard bay horses have a moderate reddish-brown hue with uniform coloration and no intermingling of lighter or darker hairs.
• Variations include blood bay (a very dark, blood-red shade), mahogany bay (almost black in appearance), and light bay (a pale, yellowish-red shade).

Identify a black horse by its solid black coat, mane, and tail. Black horses have black points and a uniformly dark black coat. True black horses lack any brown, red, or lighter colors on their body.

• Occasionally, white markings may appear on a black horse, typically on the head or lower legs. These markings do not change the horse's color classification.
• Some black horses may fade in color over time due to sun exposure but are still considered black. Those that retain their color are known as jet black or raven black.

Spot a brown horse by its black points and light brown patches. Brown horses typically have brown manes, tails, and lower legs along with a dark brown coat. They also exhibit lighter brown or tan patches on the muzzle, shoulders, and flanks.

• Brown is sometimes classified as a variation of bay horse rather than a distinct color, known as dark bay.

Recognize a buckskin horse by its yellow or golden coat and black points. Buckskins come in various shades of yellow and gold with black points. Their colors range from light tan to golden yellow or orange.

• Buckskins often feature a dorsal stripe along their back.
• A standard buckskin is referred to as a yellow buckskin, displaying a medium yellow coat color throughout.
• Examples of buckskin variations include dusty buckskin (a dark brownish-yellow shade), golden buckskin (a dark golden hue), and silvery buckskin (a light shade resembling silver).

Identify a grulla horse by its mousy, smoky-colored hairs. Grullas have smoky gray hair across their body, accompanied by a black mane, tail, and lower legs. They often possess a dorsal stripe along the back and sometimes a darker head.

• To be classified as a grulla, each individual hair must be the same smoky gray color, without any blend of white or other colors.

Recognize a chestnut or sorrel horse by its red coat without any black hairs. These horses have a coppery red or deep reddish brown body and legs. Their mane and tail match the body color or may be lighter. Ensure there are no black points to classify it as chestnut or sorrel.

• Flaxen chestnuts have lighter tails and manes, appearing pale yellow.
• A light chestnut, or sandy chestnut, features a sand-colored body, legs, mane, and tail.

Spot a palomino horse by its golden or yellow body with a pale mane and tail. Palominos come in varying shades from light tan to deep golden. Their manes and tails are typically pale flaxen or white, sometimes with black hairs mixed in.

• Palominos are distinguished by names like golden palomino, chocolate palomino, or yellow palomino, reflecting different shades of their body color.

Identify a red dun horse by its red-brown color and dorsal stripe. These horses resemble chestnuts but have a dorsal stripe along their back.

• Red duns may have varying shades of red or reddish yellow coats, with manes and tails lighter or darker than the body.
• Check the horse's skin, as duns have black skin, which can be seen by parting the coat.
• Observe the coat color, typically yellowish, distinguishing duns from palominos, which have black manes and tails.

Identify a cream or cremello horse by its ivory coat, pink skin, and blue eyes. Cream or cremello horses have very light, almost white coats, with mane and tail nearly or completely white. They feature pale pink skin and always have blue eyes.

• Perlino is a variant with small amounts of coffee or cream color mixed into the mane, tail, and lower legs. Smokey cream or smokey perlino indicate higher concentrations of these colors.